Love Shinji
by Project Cala
Summary: [NGExLH, Chapter FIFTEEN up! Yes, kill me!] In the original series, Shinji was sent to a relatives' place as a child and grew up to be a repressed, shelled in character. But what if he'd been sent to Hinata House? A less antisocial Shinji Ikari...?
1. Zero: Hinata Goodbyes

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**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover 

_by Project Cala_

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**_- flashback: Hinata House, eleven years ago -_**

_A man, dressed in black clothing that exuded an aura of cold authority, stood at the base of a tall flight of stairs. Clinging to his legs was a small boy, three years of age, crying loudly. A woman, a teenager and a small girl also stood, for now simply staring at the sight in front of them, with unspoken sympathy for the poor little boy._

_"Will you take him?" the man, Gendo Ikari, asked simply._

_"Yes," came the equally simple reply from the woman, who was short and graying with age._

_Gendo looked down impassively at the boy through orange-tinted lenses. "Shinji."_

_The young Shinji Ikari stifled a sob and met his father's gaze with teary eyes. "Daddy?"_

_"No," Gendo's tone was quiet but forceful, containing the effect of a shout. "I'm not."_

_"Daddy!"_

_Ignoring the pleas, Gendo reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope, handing it to the older woman. "You'll find all the proper documents in their place."_

_"You heartless bastard!" The teenager, who had been glaring at him all along, suddenly spoke up. Her hands were clenched into fists, and there were angry tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "He's your **son,** for crying out loud! Not some item! Does he mean **nothing** to you?"_

_"I am not his father." With finality in his voice, Gendo turned away. Before he walked over to the black unmarked car and darkly-dressed agent that waited, he pried Shinji off him. This he did gently, almost a fatherly way. But once it was done he stepped into the sedan, closing the door and signalling the agent to drive off without sparing a second glance at the little boy who had started crying once more._

_"Daddy! Don't leave me! I'll be a good little boy..."_

_The teenager rushed to his side and wrapped him in a hug, facing him away from the rapidly shrinking black dot in the distance. "Shh, don't cry," she whispered soothingly. She stroked his hair and wiped away tears-- old and new --from his face. "Don't cry..."_

_"Let's bring him inside, Haruka," the woman beckoned. "Come along, Kanako."_

* * *

**Chapter Zero: Hinata Goodbyes**

* * *

**_- Room 203 (Shinji's), Hinata House, year 2015 -_**

It was a nice day. For a country put into eternal summer by the disaster called Second Impact, it was actually a very nice day; sunny but with lots of cloud cover and a cool breeze blowing through the trees.

Sunlight streamed in through the large open windows of the room and danced along a teenage boy's face, teasing and taunting until he began to stir awake. A lazy yawn overcame him, and he stretched his arms back, working the kinks out of his shoulders. He rubbed the tiredness from his eyes and lifted himself from his futon. _'I should go down and make breakfast,'_ he thought. _'If Shinobu hasn't already beat me to it.'_

The door to his room slid open, and an energetic girl with a distinctly foreign appearance waved cheerfully at him from the doorway. "Heya Shinji!"

Shinji finished rolling up his futon and smiled back. "Morning Su. Has Shinobu started breakfast yet?"

"Nope, can't smell anything." Su emphasized this by sniffing the air in a comical fashion. "What are we going to have today, Shinji? Can we have bananas? Su loves bananas!"

"I don't think everyone can live off bananas as well as you can, Su," the boy said with a chuckle. "But I'll see what I can do just for you," he added.

"Yippee!"

**_- First floor lobby, Hinata House -_**

The letter was addressed to a 'Mr. Ikari, Shinji'. Kanako held it in her hands and tried glaring holes into it. She knew perfectly well who had sent it-- **him.** It couldn't be anyone else. The recipient's name was written in the same handwriting as the simple envelope that had been coming to Granny Hina every three months for the last eleven years. _'But he had never sent Shinji anything before, so why now?'_

"Good morning, onee-chan," a voice said into her ear.

Masking her surprise at being sneaked up on, Kanako forced herself to smile and turned around to give the person a warm hug. "Good morning to you too, Shin-chan."

Kanako felt Shinji return the affection without hesitation, and couldn't help but feel her smile become more natural. She never knew why the boy always made her feel so loved, even after all the years they'd grown up together under the same roof, treating each other like brother and sister, if not something closer. She gave Shinji a last tight squeeze before releasing her hold on him.

"Hey... What's that in your hand?"

The mention of the letter re-froze Kanako's expression. "It's... from him," she said, handing him the letter. She watched him as he slowly tore off the top of the envelope. A folded sheet of paper was pulled out of it, accompanied by a monorail ticket and a small photograph. "What does it say?"

Wordlessly, Shinji slumped down on a couch. Kanako sat beside him and waited, not repeating the question, but obviously expecting an answer nonetheless. There was a short period of tense silence between the two before: "He wants me to come," Shinji said finally. "To New Tokyo-3."

Kanako wanted to ask 'Why? Why, after all this time...?', but she highly doubted that Shinji had any fraction more of an idea than she did. If anything, he would want to know exactly the same question. Instead she asked the next thing on her mind. "So, are you going to go?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the emotional turmoil in Shinji's mind became outwardly visible. His eyes stared downward at the monorail ticket, and his hands fidgeted with the letter, folding it then unfolding it repeatedly. _'Do I want to return to the man who so carelessly abandoned me? Do I want to leave this place-- my home of eleven years --just so I can face him once again? He can't **possibly** want me back to be a family! But... what if? What if he does...?'_

"Shin-chan, you know you don't--"

"Come on, everybody!" Shinobu's cheerful voice called. "Breakfast is ready!"

**_- flashback: Tokyo-3 cemetery, year 2012 -_**

_Rows upon rows of black headstones decorated the otherwise bare and barren landscape of the graveyard. A twelve-year old Shinji Ikari somberly navigated his way through the thousands of identical obelisks, a backpack in one hand and a cello case in the other. He was flanked by the Hinata girls, as well as Granny Hina and Haruka following not too far behind._

_"You guys didn't have to come along," Shinji said, trying to sound annoyed but failing. "But... thanks."_

_Six heads nodded in solemn acknowledgement._

_Shinji glanced up, and suddenly froze in his step. Someone bumped into him from behind, but he didn't turn to see who. He was too busy staring five stones ahead, at the person kneeling down with a single flower in hand._

_"Hey, why'd you-- oh..."_

_So there they stood, father and son, for the first time in eight years. Not a word passed between them, but their gazes told the girls more than any words ever could-- they all knew Shinji's story, as he knew theirs. The silence was tangible, so thick in the air it could almost be tasted._

_Then, as abruptly as he had stopped, Shinji strode forward. He quickly made his way to the headstone marked 'Yui Ikari, 19772004' and, completely ignoring Gendo's presence, set himself up to play his cello, which had once been his mother's._

_The way Shinji's hands moved over the strings of the cello mesmerised the girls as much as the melancholic melody that was replacing the earlier moment's tension with sorrow. A few tears leaked, and their owners quickly dabbed at them with a handkerchief or sleeve._

_"Well done Shinji," Gendo said as the last note faded away. "She would be proud."_

_Shinji tensed visibly at that small comment from his father, but he stared rigidly down at the ground, refusing to otherwise notice the man standing beside him. Only when Gendo turned to leave did Shinji say anything. "Was it because you hated me?" he murmured, almost too quiet to hear._

_No reply came._

_"I thought so."_

**_- Annex rooftop, Hinata House -_**

Motoko parried the stroke with ease, and returned the attack with a sharp hit to the abdomen. Her opponent jumped back slightly and thrust out with the bokken again. The wooden training sword was knocked out its wielder's hand, sending the weapon clattering across the balcony.

"Yield," she commanded, holding the tip of her own bokken to her opponent's chest.

The person knew they were helpless, but stared defiantly back at Motoko. A sense of personal pride needed to be maintained, after all. For a few seemingly long seconds, the two combatants simply stood there, eyes locked with one another.

"That's enough for today," Motoko sighed, lowering her arm. She retrieved the fallen sword and handed it back to her sparring partner. "You cannot continue training like this, Shinji-kun. You are lacking focus."

"I'm sorry..." Shinji ran a hand through his hair. "I've just... got something on my mind right now."

Motoko sat down in a meditative position, facing a sky that was beginning to bleed, and motioned for the boy to sit at her side. "If it may provide any help, I would gladly hear you out on whatever dilemma you are facing."

"Sometimes... I wish," Shinji flipped the bokken over and over in his hands, taking note of every little dent and notch in the worn wood. "I wish that I could cut away what remaining ties I have with my father... Erase every memory to do with him, just forget it all completely..."

The girl placed a hand on his shoulder. "You should not let your heart be burdened by hate. It acts like a parasite, denying you of life's joys while it eats your soul out from the inside. You suffer slowly and painfully until something breaks-- physically or mentally."

"I suppose you are right, Motoko-san." A wry smile crossed Shinji's face. "You know, I occasionally wondered how different a person I might be if I'd not grown up here in Hinata. I think I'd have turned out to be very depressed and anti-social with a total lack of aspiration to achieve anything in life."

A thoughtful silence washed over the teens as they processed this possibility.

"That doesn't sound like you at all," Motoko remarked.

"But it seems like a good character for an anime or manga," Shinji countered.

"So, what was it that you were distressed about before?"

"I, uh... It's nothing. I'm alright now, thanks..."

**_- Shinji's room, Hinata House, the next day -_**

The room had been totally cleaned out overnight. Empty and desolate, it symbolised how Shinji was feeling right now, on the prospect of leaving Hinata House. He'd decided that it'd be best that he didn't openly tell everyone about his departure.

Shinji skim-read a particular letter one more time to himself. _'This should do it,'_ he thought, sealing it in an envelope and placing it on the desk-- slightly separate to the others --where it was clearly visible. _'I hope that it takes well...'_

He hitched his bag on his back and gazed once more around the room that had been his for the last eleven years. _'I'm really going to miss this place...'_

_'You don't have time to get sentimental Ikari,'_ he berated himself. He stood with his ear to the door and listened to the happenings of the House. Everybody was occupied with something, but the only 'danger' was Shinobu, making lunch preparations in the kitchen.

As quite as he could manage, he slid out of the room and tiptoed his way downstairs. That successfully done, he'd made his way halfway to the sliding doors when a voice called out from behind him. "Shinji?"

Frozen in his tracks, he slowly turned around, wiping the mask of guilt from his face; silently thanking Kanako and the impersonation skills she taught him. "Y-yes, Shinobu?"

"Are you going down to the teahouse?"

Another silent thanks; this time to Shinobu for unwittingly providing him with a plausible excuse. "Yeah, I thought I might go help Haruka-san with lunchtime customers."

"Okay, see you later."

"Bye."

The girl promptly disappeared into the kitchen, letting Shinji reduce his 200km/h heartbeat to a figure more normal for human beings. _'Whew, that was much too close...'_

Gripping the straps of his backpack, he ran out of Hinata House. Behind him, the glass doors slid quietly shut.

**_- Streets of Hinata City -_**

"Phew," Keitaro Urashima wiped his sweaty face with a handkerchief. "That's strange... I thought it was--"

He was suddenly knocked over by a blur of white and black that came running down from a tall set of stairs. Both Keitaro and his 'assailant' found themselves tangled with each other on the ground, when he flailed and grabbed the person's shirt in the process.

A synchronised groan of pain was uttered. "Ow..."

"I'm sorry," Having got to his feet first, the stranger, a boy in his mid-teens, offered the still-prone Keitaro a hand. "Are you okay? That was my fault, wasn't it?"

Shakily, Keitaro took the boy's hand and was pulled up to a dizzy stand. "No, it's alright. I'm just naturally clumsy-- whoa!" Trying to walk, he stumbled on his feet and tripped over again. "Heh, I'm fine. Really..."

The teenager looked down skeptically at him, rolling his eyes-- they were blue, Keitaro noted. "I should take you to the hospital... I'm sure they have a cure for the directionally challenged..."

"Hey, that's not a nice thing to say!"

"Uh, sorry..." He looked away, muttering, "That's Naru-san's sarcasm, I swear..."

"'Naru-san'?" For a reason Keitaro couldn't fathom, the name struck a bell in his head somewhere-- emphasis on 'somewhere'. "Who's that?"

"A person I... knew... while I lived in Hinata House."

Keitaro jumped up at the mention of Hinata House. "Really? That's where I need to go!"

He was apprehensively scanned up and down by the blue-eyed boy. "You don't look like a girl to me," he said finally.

"Huh?"

"Didn't you know? Hinata House is a girls dormitory. Well, only for the last four years, but--"

"**WHAT?**" Keitaro curled up into a ball. "Oh man, I'm so screwed..."

"Look, I don't know what business you have with Hinata House, if any, but why don't I take you up there?"

Keitaro had been going through several stages of self-contortion, but he quickly stopped. "Would you really? Thanks a lot!"

"By the way, I'm Shinji." He began climbing the stairs he'd come down only a few minutes ago. _'So much for getting away quietly,'_ he lamented.

"My name's Keitaro Urashima. Nice to meet you."

Shinji bug-eyed. _'Wait! Did he just say his name was...?'_

**_- First floor lobby, Hinata House -_**

Kanako held the squirming young Ikari in a tight headlock in her arms, while the other girls and Keitaro watched in horror. Or curiosity. Maybe even horrified curiosity. "I. Can't. **Believe.**" she growled menacingly into the boy's ear. "That you tried to go without telling any of us. Haruka and myself especially."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Shinji continued to writhe in the girl's clutches, attempting to break free, but only succeeding in creating friction between his back and her breasts-- not that he was aware of the fact, nor would someone else point it right now, for fear of their own lives.

"Are you?"

Shinji began to wheeze and cough, grabbing the arm around his neck to indicate that he was running out of air-- though he was only faking it. However the act seemed to work, and he was let go, to which he completed his facade by slumping to the floor and gasping for breath. "But I thought you'd understand..."

"Of course I understand," Kanako retorted sarcastically, masking her slight embarrassment-- physical contact like that is difficult to ignore. "'Oh, look! Shinji's not here! He must have headed off for Tokyo-3 already! But that's fine, because he left a letter behind!'"

"Okay, I admit that wasn't one of my brightest ideas," he said, seating himself on a couch and silently cringing how she'd inadvertently struck the truth dead-centre. "But I... I just didn't want it to become a big deal, that's all..."

"And running away would've made a difference?"

No answer was given; the girl turned her attention to someone else, folding her arms over her chest. "So, onii-san. What brings you here?"

Keitaro scratched his head sheepishly. "I, uh, kinda... left home-- well actually, got kicked out..."

"Don't tell me you--"

"Yeah... I failed. Again."

"Now you need a place to stay..." Kanako gave the other girls a sweeping glance. _'I think getting into Tokyo-2 University would be easier than convincing--'_ Her gaze lingered over Naru and Motoko in particular. '--_**them** to let onii-san live here...'_

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_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** To all and any new readers, first of all I'd like to thank you for your time. Even if you didn't like it, I'm still very appreciative of the fact that you actually read my story. I would, of course, also much appreciate it if you left me any comments or constructive criticism about what you think I could improve on in general, and for when I eventually rewrite this fic completely.

And likewise with those fair few of you who enjoyed it: again, thank you so much for reading, and feel free to tell me anything about things you liked or good suggestions for the second version. All opinions are welcome, through reviews and/or e-mail to "cala1019" at Gmail.

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**_- Omake: Shinji's letter to Kanako -_**

Sitting in her darkened room, Kanako wiped the tears from her eyes and read the letter once again. She'd found it on the desk of Shinji's empty room, along with all the other envelopes personally addressed to every resident in Hinata House, as well as one for Haruka.

_Dear Kanako,_ it read.

_I just want to start off by saying 'I'm sorry'.  
This was a very difficult decision that I made for myself,  
and I thought long and hard about it-- though maybe  
not as long as I should've. To be completely honest,  
I... need to seem him again. All my life I've hated him,  
but I just can't bury that little spark of hope in me that  
I've carried with that hate. This is my chance to put all  
this enmity to an end, for better or worse. I know we  
can't be a family again, but I don't think I'd prefer any  
thing other than the family I've been living with for the  
last eleven years - can you believe it's been that long?  
I would reminisce about all the good times you, Haruka  
and I have had, but that'd take me more than just one  
night-- I have more than just this letter to write, and this  
is already the longest. You've always been like an older  
sister to me, and in recent years I couldn't help but  
wonder if my feelings were more than just simple kinship.  
I love you, Kanako. I'm not quite sure what kind of love  
it is, and I guess I won't know for a few more years yet.  
But in any case, as a sister, as a friend, as a person...  
I love you. I'll... miss you._

_--Shinji Ikari_

That night, for the first time ever, Kanako Urashima cried herself to sleep.


	2. One: City of Angels

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**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- Monorail station, Tokyo-3 -_**

_"This is the emergency broadcast system,"_ the loudspeakers blared. _"Stand by for an important alert!"_

"What do you think it's for?" Kanako asked Shinji, who was busy with a public phone.

"Beats me," he replied with a shrug.

_"Today, at 12:30 PM, a special state of emergency is being declared for the entire central Kanto region, with the Tokai district at the epicentre. All residents should quickly and calmly evacuate to their designated shelters. We repeat: at 12:30 today--"_

"Huh..." the boy placed the handset back down. "All the phones are out..."

"And the monorails aren't running either," the girl added needlessly, pointing to the schedule board that read 'out of service' for all routes.

Reaching into his pocket, Shinji pulled out the photo he'd been sent with the letter three days ago. It was of a woman with dark violet hair, leaning forward and flashing a 'V' sign. A short message was written on it-- _To Shinji. I'm going to pick you up, so please wait for me!_ --as well as a lipstick mark where it had obviously been kissed. There was also an arrow accompanied by a comment: _P.S. Note the cleavage!_

Kanako peered over his shoulder. "Talk about indecency..."

"Yeah," he agreed, putting the photo away. "Well, I guess we'll just have walk the last two stations."

Shinji noticed a noise and looked up to see a jet plane. "Are they allowed to fly that low?"

Then, a deafening roar swept past the two teens, but was dismissed as if it was nothing. "Oh, it's only a cruise missile," the girl sighed in relief. "For a moment there I thought that was one of Su's **'toys'**..."

They watched as the weapon spiral up and explode on what looked like a demon from Hell. Large plates of carapace covered its broad shoulders, and it had a large red orb on its chest just under a bony beak-like mask that could be called its face. As the smoke from the missile blew away, they could see that it seemed completely unfazed.

"With such tolerance, that-- whatever --would make a great playmate," Shinji quipped.

The pair watched as half a dozen VTOLs bombarded the creature with rockets. They started to walk calmly walking backwards, realizing a front-row view might just get them killed. They were right, as one VTOL-- destroyed and blazing from some kind of energy lance from the monster's arm --came crashing down where they'd just been standing.

Despite having made some distance, Shinji and Kanako braced themselves for the imminent explosion of the craft, but found that the brunt of the flaming assault had been blocked by a blue car that screeched to a stop in front of them. The driver's door opened, and the woman from the photo yelled: "Sorry to keep you waiting! C'mon, get in!"

Not taking their eyes off the battle, the teens climbed into the car somewhat reluctantly-- they were rather curious to see how it would turn out. "Hold on tight!" the woman warned, as she slammed her foot on the accelerator. "Here we go..."

* * *

**Chapter One: City of Angels**

* * *

**_- Command centre, NERV -_**

"Hahaha!" The old general gloated as the Angel disappeared under a gigantic hemisphere of flame. "Did you see **that!** That's the power of our N2 mines! Do you know what this means? The EVAs are no longer necessary!"

A platform below, Gendo Ikari simply watched the screen of static. His second-in-command, Fuyutsuki, stood behind and to his left, wearing the similar expression of indifference.

"Continuing radio-wave interference from the explosion!" A technician announced. "We're still standing by for target destruction confirmation!"

"A blast of that force?" Another of the three generals scoffed. "Can there be any doubt?"

The three-dimensional graph representation of the blast area spiked up with a loud bleep.

"We're picking up energy readings from Ground Zero!"

"**WHAT?**"

"Visuals are back online!"

In the middle of a huge smoking crater, was the still-standing form of the Angel. As the camera zoomed in closer to it, the generals and command crew could see its beak-like face shift to the side as it instantly grew another similar bony mask.

"It's a monster... A demon!"

"Yes, we understand... Absolutely. Good day..." A phone was put down with a 'click'.

"Ikari..." The man got up from his seat at his name and turned to face the speaker. "We've just received word from HQ. Effective immediately, command authority for this operation has been transferred to you! Let's see what you're capable of!"

"We'll be frank," a different general spoke. "The UN Army admits that our weapons were ineffectual against the target. But do you really think you have a better chance?"

"Do not be concerned," Gendo assured, pushing his glasses up. "After all, this is the purpose of NERV."

**_- EVA holding cage, NERV -_**

"So all this is... part of my father's work?"

"That is correct," a voice called from overhead. Looking up, Shinji saw--

"It's been a while," Gendo said, noticing the girl also standing on the platform below. _'I think it's time to **"remind"** security the definition of their job...'_

"Yes," the younger Ikari replied, his level voice surprising everyone, including himself. "It has."

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you." A pause for effect. "You're going to ride in her. You're going to battle the Angel!

A small smirk crossed Shinji's face, though he held his head down to hide it.

"Wait a moment, Commander!" Misato shouted. "It took even Rei seven months to synchronise with the EVA-- remember? A boy who just arrived today? It's impossible!

"He only needs to sit in her," was the cold reply. "I'm not expecting more at this point."

"But--"

Ritsuko cut in. "Captain Katsuragi! Our overriding priority is to halt and repel the Angel. In order to accomplish this, it is imperative that we load someone, no matter who, into the Unit-- someone who may have the ability to synchronise to some extent with the EVA! Or do you have any alternatives you'd like to share?"

Misato was at a loss for words.

"Now... Shinji, come this way!"

The boy stood firmly in place, shuddering with indecision, or so it looked to everybody until he burst out laughing. "I'm sorry," he said, composing himself. "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

"If you don't do as I say, all of humanity will perish." Gendo's expression and tone was nothing but seriousness. "The very **existence** of the human race rests on your shoulders!"

Shinji brought his gaze-- a blue, colder version of the man's --up slowly to meet orange-tinted lenses. "How very dramatic," he sneered. "But what if I were to say... **'no'**?"

"Then I have no further need of you-- go home...! Cowards are useless in a battle where man's future is at stake." The elder Ikari pressed a button on a communications console beside him. "Fuyutsuki... Wake Rei!"

"Can you use her?"

"She's not **dead,**" Gendo countered. "Have her transported here."

A gurney was wheeled loudly into the holding cage, catching Shinji and Kanako's attention. On the mobile bed lay a girl, dressed in some kind of skin-tight suit and heavily bandaged on her chest and arms - one of which was even in a cast.

"Rei... our only backup is useless. You must pilot the EVA again."

"Y-yes, sir..." Rei struggled to lift herself up, anguished moans escaping her lips she tried using her injured arms as support for her body. Shinji rushed to her side and taking her shoulders, laid her back down, much to her pained protest.

"All right... **Father,**" the boy relented, gently holding the girl down. "I just have to get in it-- that's all, right?"

**_- City surface, Tokyo-3 -_**

There they stood in frozen silence, Angel versus Evangelion. Each one a powerful and destructive behemoth in their own respectful right. Shinji sat inside the entry plug of the EVA, watching the vaguely humanoid Angel through the viewscreen. _'This feels rather like a staring contest...'_

"Evangelion Unit-01, lift off!"

With a 'click', the final safety locks were released.

"Shinji!" Misato's voice came over the comm. system. "Just try walking!"

_'Walking? How am I supposed to do **that?** It not like I can just think it and--'_ His thoughts were interrupted by a few slow steps forward by the EVA, and a slight motion echo in his legs-- they felt as though they'd twitched slightly. _'Oh. Okay, so maybe that works...'_

He tugged at the control sticks. The purple Unit broke into a run, closing two-thirds of the distance before jumping off the ground and sending the Angel crashing across the tarmac with a flying kick. Up to that was all good, but then he tripped on a tree, and smashed shoulder-first into a building. "Argh..."

Trying to ignore the throbbing sensation, Shinji willed the EVA to stand, but it responded sluggishly-- he felt heavy and tired as if he'd just finished training sessions with both Kanako and Motoko. _'Come on...! Get up!'_ All that he managed was rolling over to find the Angel looming over him. _ 'Damn...'_

A wickedly clawed arm came swiftly down, clamping around the armoured head and lifting the biomech up to a stand. The boy smirked at the Angel's arrogance and rewarded it with a kick that impacted with the red orb set in its chest. He wasn't too sure, but it seemed to have minutely fractured.

However the vice-like grip wasn't loosened the slightest bit. The EVA lashed out with a rapid succession of punches to the orb, which looked to Shinji like its weakest point. It was beginning to show definite signs of cracking, but the Angel's other arm swung up and grabbed the biomech's left arm, dislocating it with a violent jerk.

Shinji's concentration shattered like a brandy snap. He clenched his arm, screaming in anguish. His cries grew louder and higher in pitch when the limb was crushed, intensifying the already searing pain. Through closed eyes, he could see little green dots blinking on and off.

"Shinji, get out of the way!"

The boy only vaguely heard Misato shout, and only briefly saw the bright glow in the centre of the Angel's palm before an energy lance, like the one that had gutted a VTOL earlier in the day, fired point-blank into the EVA's eye. Once, twice. A third blasted Unit-01 back into a building where it promptly slumped forward, motionless and gushing blood from its head wound.

In the command centre, Kanako burst out from her hiding place. "**NOOO! SHINJI!**"

**_- Tokyo-3 hospital, Geofront -_**

"Nnn..."

Kanako woke up, lifting her head groggily and finding herself to be what looked like-- "...A hospital room?" The sound seemed to echo slightly, and glancing to her left, she saw Shinji sleeping there in the bed. Suddenly, like water through an open dam, it all came flooding back into her mind.

_-flashback-_

_"Force ejection of the plug!"_

_"There's no manual override! We've lost all contact with the EVA!"_

_"**WHAT?**"_

_The command crew could only watch in helpless horror. Kanako glared at Gendo, wanting more than anything to rip him to shreds with her bare hands, but unable to find the strength to do so. Her legs gave out, and she fell to the floor. Someone-- the Captain, she identified through teary eyes --helped her sit up._

_An unearthly roar caught everyone's attention as the EVA reactivated, going berserk and charging the Angel with a murderous fury. However the attack was repelled by an ethereal barrier of concentric hexagons, to which it responded by lifting its arms-- the injured one healing instantaneously --and tearing the AT Field apart like a shoji (rice paper) screen._

_Threatened by the breach of its defenses, the eyes of the Angel's second face flashed, unleashing a beam attack that was deflected back, sending the creature toppling into buildings. Using a rooftop like a stepping stone, Unit-01 jumped high into the air, silhouetting against the moon briefly before crashing down, driving its knee-wedges into the core, cracking it further._

_Straddling the incapacitated Angel, the EVA slammed a fist down onto the orb. Once, twice. Then, wiry arms whipped out and clutched Unit-01 in a tight embrace-- even the legs of the two giants were entwined. The nearly demolished core began to gain a blinding shine which expanded spherically before bursting up into the night sky in a cross-shaped explosion._

_From amidst the blazing inferno, Evangelion Unit-01 strode out, almost undamaged save for its missing eye and severely scorched armour. Wreathed in flames, it looked like a demon emerging from the deepest pit of Hell._

_"Life signs confirmed for both Unit-01 and pilot!"_

_"Dispatching retrieval units! Contacting emergency crews--"_

_-end flashback-_

Kanako took one of Shinji's hands into her own. _'It's so soft and smooth,'_ she marvelled. _'It feels more like a girl's hand than a boy's...'_ She gave it a little squeeze, and jumped in surprise when its owner stirred awake with a groan. "Aaah... Onee-chan...?"

"Shh, don't get up," she whispered. "You need to rest."

Shinji sat up regardless, looking at her with concern. "You've been crying," he murmured.

Kanako threw her arms around the boy, pulling him close. "Of course I cried, you baka! I thought you'd **died** out there, Shin-chan! I couldn't stand losing you... Not like that..." _'Not **ever,** if I can do anything about it...'_

He'd brought his hand up to stroke her hair when she pushed him away. Just as quickly, she gave him a peck on the cheek, eliciting a faint tinge of pink on his face. "That's for saving the world," she said with a smile. And then she kissed him again, this time pressing it onto his warm lips. "And that's for the letter," she breathed.

"Ahem," a fake cough diverted their attention. "Am I... interrupting something here?"

While Shinji could only sit there with an even deeper blush, Kanako turned around and smirked confidently back. "Oh no Captain, we're done... for now."

"Uh, r-right..." Misato stammered. "Well, I... I'm here to pick you two up..."

**_- Shinji's room, Katsuragi residence -_**

_'Oh, Shinobu...'_ Dinner rested uneasily in Shinji's stomach as he lay there on his bed. _'Not even a day has passed and how I miss your wonderful-- **edible** --cooking already... I feel sick...'_

Shifting carefully onto his side, he surveyed his new surroundings. On one side of the room was a desk and accompanying chair. The other side had a large wardrobe, spanning almost the whole wall. And opposite the door was the bed he was currently on. It had been a rather bare room, and the only difference made to it by Shinji's arrival were the three yet-unpacked boxes of his possessions stacked beside the desk. _'And a long, thin, wrapped object leaning against them...?'_

_'No... She shouldn't have...!'_ He sat up-- too abruptly, his stomach told him with a lurch --and grabbed the package, feeling its weight in his hands. Slowly, he peeled off the brown parcel paper to reveal a katana of exquisite craftsmanship. A lacquered sheath, etched with a flowing lotus pattern, housed a curved blade of polished steel bound to a kanji-embroidered hilt. It was a magnificent sword, one that Shinji had seen many times, hung up on a display panel in Motoko's room back at Hinata. _'But... this isn't just a weapon!'_

A length of tied string held a note. Untying it, he unfolded the paper to read:

_Shinji-kun,_

_This is the blade 'Yuuki' (valour). I present it to you as a symbol  
of my respect and gratitude for your friendship as a person and  
diligence as a student - despite my own questionable teaching  
abilities. True to what you believe, it is indeed a family treasure,  
and so I shall be around sometime in the future to challenge you  
for rightful ownership. Until then, I hope it serves you well. Also,  
do check your belongings for everyone else's gifts._

_--Motoko Aoyama_

_'So this is her way of telling me to train...'_ Shinji thought, rolling his eyes. _'And everyone else's gifts? In that case, I should unpack my stuff...'_ He sat on the floor, and box by box, ripped the packaging tape off them and unloaded their contents. A majority of the items were just clothes, which he put in piles to tidy later, but there were also a few books-- mostly reference materials like dictionaries and textbooks.

And there were the girls' presents, each with a name sticker. From Su was the latest model S-Disc player-- _'Stamped with a triple-eye symbol...?'_ Shinji put the device down cautiously. Shinobu had given him a hand-made framed photo of everyone at Hinata, taken before Granny Hina had left. A wristwatch courtesy of Naru, Kitsune's music SDs and Haruka's mobile phone completed the outfit.

Of all the gifts that he'd received, Haruka's seemed to speak the loudest message: _Keep in touch..._

_'But... It's not like I'm going to stay here forever,'_ Shinji said to himself. _'Am I?'_

"'Night, onee-chan. 'Night, Misato."

"Goodnight, Shin-chan," Kanako's voice called from the adjacent room.

The other human resident of the apartment only replied with loud snores.

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** Once again, thank you for reading. Love it or hate it, please drop me a comment either by review or to "cala1019" at Gmail, though really hateful flames will be ignored to the best of my ability. Though really, even negative responses need to maintain some semblance of valid reasoning.

The following Omake was in response to the feedback I received from FFN readers.

* * *

**_- Omake: Lost in the rain... -_**

'It's getting dark,' _ a four year-old Kanako Urashima noticed. _ 'Where **is** he...?'

_An hour ago, Haruka had announced with tears in her eyes, that she'd lost Shinji and that she'd looked everywhere around the House. Hinata had immediately rushed out into the city, dragging the teenager with her. This left little Kanako to sit alone and think. Not long after, she too, made her way outside to find the child._

_Kanako had gone around the neighbourhood, knocking people's doors and politely asking if anybody had seen a little boy wandering about anywhere. Nobody had, but they all expressed their concerns and said they would keep an eye out, just in case he turned up._

'I need to get back before Grandmother and Aunt return...'_ A drop of water fell on her nose, and she looked up in surprise. _'Rain!'_ Sure enough, it soon began to pour down from the sky in sheets. Kanako desperately covered her head and started to run back to Hinata House._

_As she ran down a street, a sudden sniffling noise caught her attention. She only just heard it through the sound of the falling rain, and it was extremely lucky that she did. Huddled in the back corner of a small alley was a crying Shinji Ikari._

_"Shinji!"_

_The boy looked up at his name. "Mommy?"_

_"No, I'm not..." Kanako knelt down and took his hand._

_Shinji seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Then... who are you?"_

_"I'm Kanako," she said. Then, a smile formed on her face. "But you can call me 'onee-chan'."_

_"Onee-chan?"_

_Somehow, Kanako liked the sound of that. She nodded._

_Short little arms grabbed her a tight hug that she returned warmly. "Onee-chan!"_

_"C'mon, let's take you home..."_


	3. Two: Saving the World

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- First City Junior High School, Tokyo-3 -_**

A hand slammed down onto Shinji's desk.

"Yo! New kid!" A rather vexed-looking teen in a tracksuit shouted. "Step outside-- **NOW!**"

Shinji looked around the classroom briefly before mentally shrugging and following the other boy out, with another person-- ash-blond hair and glasses --tagging behind anxiously.

"Okay, new kid... Listen up!" Tracksuit-guy crossed his arms. "My younger sister was hurt bad-- she's still in da hospital! My Dad and Grandpa both work in your lab, and I'm da only one who can stay with her!"

_'Hurt...?'_ Shinji thought. _'What does this have to-- Oh, the battle against the Angel...'_

"Not like I mind going there," the boy continued. "But supposin' she ends up with some scar? She'll never be a babe! Don't-cha feel sorry for her? Whose fault do you think this is?" He turned to stand face-to-face with Shinji.

"It's **your** fault!" he cried, jabbing a finger. "She was pinned under rubble because you had to go crashin' around! Don't think yer so hot just because they're all over ya!"

"...Sorry..." Shinji didn't know what else to say.

The teen went spastic, flailing an arm furiously while the boy in glasses held him back by the other. "You tryin' ta make fun of me! 'Sorry' just don't cut it!"

"H-hey, Toji! Enough already!"

"I'd like to see if you could do any better."

A fist flew towards Shinji's face, but he caught it effortlessly. Its owner lashed out with the other hand, which was also stopped without difficulty. "Toji, isn't it? Toji Suzuhara."

"So what?" Toji struggled in the other boy's grip. _'Dis guy's stronger than he looks...'_

"I really don't want to hurt you," Shinji said, letting go and turning to walk away.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? Nobody turns their back on me!" Blinded with anger, Toji charged the seemingly vulnerable teen, only to get knocked down from a spinning kick to his jaw. The last thing he was aware of before blacking out was being hoisted into someone's back.

"No, Horaki-_inchou_ (class rep)," Shinji insisted. "**I'll** take him to the infirmary..."

* * *

**Chapter Two: Saving the World**

* * *

**_- Commander's office, NERV -_**

A knock resounded on the large office doors.

"Enter," Gendo spoke calmly, though he had not been expecting anyone at this time.

They opened, and a teenage girl stepped inside the dark room, making her way across to stand defiantly in front of the man's desk. "I wish to discuss a proposal with you," she declared.

"You are quickly becoming a nuisance," he intoned, staring into her eyes. "Admittedly an interesting one, but a nuisance regardless. NERV is no playground that a **child** such as yourself can travel in and out of on a whim."

Kanako didn't blink or twitch. She just glared right back, wordlessly. _'I'm not scared of you...'_

"State your business. Or leave."

"Induct me into the squad of guards protecting Shinji Ikari."

_'She discovered the Section Two agents...'_ Gendo processed the thought. _'Those useless fools...'_

"I believe myself skilled enough for the task," Kanako added briskly.

"Are you experienced with the use of firearms?"

"If I had a gun, I would kill you right now."

The man smirked behind his gloved hands. "Very well. You will be notified soon."

Kanako turned and left the office. _'I will **personally** make sure Shin-chan is safe...'_

**_- Apartment rooftop, Katsuragi residence -_**

_'997, 998, 999, 1000...'_ A few more downward slashes of the sword completed Shinji's set of thousand kata for the day. Facing a setting sun, he wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead with a sleeve of his gi. _'Such a beautiful sky,'_ he thought. _'Yet also tragic; the light of day bleeding away as it dies once again...'_

"Now," he said, grinning inwardly. _'Let's get to the fun part...'_

Closing his eyes, Shinji shifted to a perfectly balanced crane-stance, shifting his grip on the katana and holding it horizontally over his head. For a few minutes, he stood almost completely still and silent, save for his deep breaths to calm himself down and focus his thoughts. A chill breeze blew past, but he barely felt it.

It looked like the boy had simply frozen in place until-- suddenly he flicked his head back, dodging the attack of an invisible opponent. A push off the ground added to his backwards momentum, and he flipped into the air, to return the offensive. In his mind's eye, the beheaded assailant disappeared like a wisp of smoke, only to be replaced by another faceless adversary.

Landing gracefully on two feet, he stepped in, driving his blade into the illusion's heart. Not stopping, he spun around and dispatched one that had appeared behind him. It too vanished, only this time, two emerged in its place. Shinji jumped up and kicked them both out of existence with both feet, adding a little forward roll at the end.

When he stood up from the roll, there were three. And they were armed, with the shorter wakizashi blades favoured by ninja. As one, they charged towards him. Shinji parried and countered to his left, ducked and slashed to his right, and simply punched at the centre. _'Now four...'_

As his opposition was continuously destroyed and revived in greater numbers each time, Shinji's movements became more frenetic. Yet they were also fluid, effortlessly leading into one lethal strike after another. His katana flickered in and out of view as he weaved about, seemingly partaking in some sort of dance, one which called for his ascension into a whirling vortex of silver.

The imaginary assassins came in their droves, but they couldn't even touch the boy in the throes of his kenbu (sword dance). He no longer needed to actively avoid the attacks; every elegant step or jump carried him safely away, from which he would then flow smoothly into a fatal twirl.

He spun away from a wakizashi's thrust and went to strike down a seemingly helpless enemy, when it suddenly screamed in the high pitch of a woman. The tip of his katana stopped just short of the image's neck, the sharp steel quivering slightly. Opening his eyes slowly, he saw a terrified Misato standing there, babbling incoherently in absolute terror.

_'Kami-sama...'_ Shinji lowered his blade carefully, and sheathed it. _'I almost **killed** her...!'_

All the colour drained from the woman's face as she slumped to the floor in a faint.

"Misato!" The boy knelt down gently shook her.

She came to slowly, and looked up at him with a weak smile.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, dinner's ready...?" Misato managed before fainting again.

**_- Underground shelter #334, Geofront -_**

"Damn!" Kensuke grumbled. "They're doing it again."

"Doin' what?" Toji asked, though not really caring.

"See for yourself," the bespectacled boy said, showing him the screen of the camera/television. "All words again. They never show us anything... And this is such a big event!"

_At noon today, a state of emergency  
was declared for the Kanto district,  
centering around the Tokai region.  
Stay tuned for updates._

"Yer really into this stuff, huh?"

"Arrrrgh!" Kensuke clenched his hands together as if praying. "Man, I just gotta see it just once! We might never get another chance!" Then he whispered conspiratorially, "Toji... Let's sneak out."

"Are you **nuts?**" Toji blew up. "We'll be **killed,** yo!"

"**Jeez!** Shhhhhh!" The boy hissed. "That might happen even if we stay here," he continued gravely. "Besides, don't you have an obligation to watch this battle?"

"An' what's dat supposed t'mean?"

"That robot of his protected us all in that last fight, man." Kensuke stated. "Sure, your sister got hurt because of his mistakes, but ultimately he saved her life. Don't you think you owe him one?"

"Hmm..." Toji seemed thoughtful for a moment.

"Come on, Toji. I know you're feel bad about picking on him."

"Say what? I'll show you feelin' bad, man-- Mmrf!"

A hand clamped around his mouth. "Oh! _Inchou,_ we have to go to the bathroom."

"Well," Hikari said exasperated, looking away from her card game. "You'd better hurry it up!"

**_- City surface, Tokyo-3 -_**

Shinji dodged the Angel's cutting attack, desperately wishing that NERV made EVA-sized katanas. _'It would have been much more effective than that stupid rifle...'_ He suddenly noticed a large timer display light up and begin counting down from 5:00.00. _'I can't believe we have the technology to create huge biomechanical defenders of humanity and yet be unable to give them mobile power sources...'_

He narrowly avoided being sliced again, but a barrage of rubble-- the top half of a building that wasn't as lucky to have legs --collapsed directly onto the EVA, causing it to fall over. Trying to ignore the sensation of what he thought would be like getting run over by a steamroller, Shinji stood back up.

A glowing whip-like appendage lashed out and wrapping around Unit-01's ankle, threw it forcibly into the air. For a few short seconds, he was flying, following a parabolic trajectory before crashing down into the side of a mountain, next to a shrine. Shinji shook his head, and suddenly noticed the two deathly paled boys curled up between the second and third fingers of the EVA's left hand. _'What? Those two **again...?**'_

The Angel floated leisurely over, and let loose its deadly tendrils towards his head. With amazingly quick reflexes, the EVA grabbed the threads tightly, stopping them. Shinji winced at the prolonged contact; his hands burned. He glanced up at the timer-- _'Three and a half...'_ --then down to where Toji and Kensuke still cowered. _'Guess they only have one brain between them...'_

Plates of armour opened on Unit-01's back, and the entry plug slid out. The hatch popped up, and Shinji called out through the external communications system. "You two, come on! Get in!"

Toji and Kensuke didn't hesitate in scrambling inside, but were surprised to find themselves suddenly wet.

"What da hell... Water!"

"M-my camera!"

"Shut up and sit still! You're distracting me!" Shinji snapped, as the plug slid back into place.

"Idiot!" Misato screamed. "You're supposed to ask **me** for orders! You had any number of options!"

Subordination was the last thing on the pilot's mind. "Any of them involve getting these two out **alive?**" He yanked back on the Angel's arm-whips and drove a foot into its body, sending it sailing back into the city blocks.

"Now! Fall back! Use retrieval route 34-- fall back to the eastern side of the mountain!"

The EVA returned to its feet and reached with a singed hand to the now-open left shoulder compartment, where a progressive knife jutted out. _'Such a pathetic little weapon,'_ Shinji groused. Holding it blade-down, he ran down the hill at full speed. _'It's no katana, but it shall suffice...'_

"What the hell is he doing!"

Jumping in mid-run, the massive biomech arced through the air to deliver a powerful kick to the Angel, knocking it down once again. Shinji pinned the creature down with the EVA's weight and neutralised it, using the prog-knife to cut off the flailing whips. He then stabbed the dagger down into the red orb, the point of contact showering sparks as the metal vibrated furiously.

It took a full thirty seconds for the Angel to stop writhing and finally die. Shinji glanced up at the clock and wiped his brow, the EVA echoing his motion. He switched to low-power mode and leant dejectedly back in his seat. _'I'm no hero... I'm just a puppet...'_

**_- Changing rooms, NERV -_**

"Why did you disregard my orders, Shinji?"

The boy sat on a bench with a towel around his neck. _'I don't need this, I'm tired enough already...'_

"I can overlook the fact that you let those two into the entry plug," Misato continued. "But what do you think would have happened if you hadn't been able to defeat the Angel?"

"We would've all died," Shinji replied morosely, not looking up.

"Exactly! That's why I'm employed as your operations supervisor! You have an obligation to follow my orders-- not to go off and do your own stupid thing! Understand!"

Almost inaudibly, he whispered: "I hate being an item..."

"Huh?"

His tone became steel-edged. "I said, I **hate** being an item!"

Misato didn't know whether to be shocked or angry. "What do you mean...?"

"Of course, **you** won't know," Shinji murmured, standing up to leave. "I'm only a pilot-- your subordinate. Like a pet you write a little log about each day. Complete strangers have treated me better than that..."

She grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. He shifted his eyes and gave her an icy gaze-- frighteningly similar to the Commander's usual expression --before shrugging off her hand and walking out. Before the door slid shut, she heard him say:

"You're just a puppet too..."

**_- Kitchen, Katsuragi residence -_**

Dinner was a quiet and sullen event without Shinji there.

"Aren't you even worried about him? You're supposed to be his sister..."

"And you're supposed to be his guardian," Kanako countered. "But only one of us is doing their job right."

Misato was too tired to argue. "Are you saying it's my fault he ran away?"

"May I remind you of something called the 'Project-E: Third Child Supervision Record'?" The girl stopped eating and simply poked her 'food' with a fork. "Call it a complex if you will, but Shinji has an extreme dislike for being considered as anything other than a person."

_'So that's what he meant...'_ The woman swirled the last bit of her beer around in the can.

"In any case Katsuragi-san, I advise you don't kill yourself over his absence. It'll only take... a few days at most until he returns on his own, or Section Two finds him."

"They lost him in the first place," Misato retorted. "Who's to say they will?"

"Those incompetent fools are due to be replaced very soon." A knowing smirk graced the girl's features as she stood up and cleared away the forgotten little plastic trays called dinner. "And what kind of big sister am I, if I can't even find my little brother?"

To Kanako's mild surprise, the woman picked up on the hint. "Welcome to NERV."

"I'm not doing this for anyone's sake but his, Katsuragi-san."

"I understand. You know about keeping a professional relationship, right?"

The girl nodded. "Of course."

"And if you could please, just call me 'Misato'?"

"Why, does it make you feel old?" Kanako laughed quietly at the mask of astonishment. "My Aunt. She's twenty-seven, and getting sensitive about her age too. Must be the 'Christmas Cake Theory' at work."

Misato smiled despite herself. "So, tell me about your dear Hinata House..."

**_- Hillsides, Tokyo-3 outskirts -_**

As the keen steel blade sung through the air, Shinji could feel his anger and frustration flow down his arm and out through the katana. _'At least there's nobody around to cause an accident...'_

The sun was setting, its light creating the illusion of the grass burning up beneath the boy's feet as he glided through the motions of his kenbu routine. He had his eyes open, enjoying the beauty of a sunset view, while slowly tracing the horizon with the tip of the sword. Without the distraction of the training partners he usually imagined up, it was much easier to simply relax.

"Hey! Ikari!"

Shinji recognised the voice and silhouette of the boy coming up the slope at a run. _'So much for relaxing...'_ Sliding the katana back into its sheath with a drawn-out sigh, he crossed his arms and waited.

Kensuke came to a stop, and paused to catch his breath. He went to take a drink from his canteen, but remembered he'd come up here to refill it, after finding it was empty. "Heh... I thought it was you!"

"What's with the get-up?"

"I could ask the same about you..."

Each boy alternated looks between themselves and each other. Shinji was dressed in his gi and hakama, while Kensuke was in complete military attire. Even a rifle was slung over his back, and various pouches rattled heavily from his large belt.

"Never mind," they said in unison. Then laughed.

"C'mon," the spectacled boy offered. "Let's go have something to eat back at my campsite."

Shinji retrieved his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Got anything good?"

"Nothing much. Just some rice and sausages..."

"Compared to what I've been forced to eat, that sounds like heaven."

**_- Shinji's room, Katsuragi residence -_**

The door slid open slowly, and Shinji saw Misato standing in the doorway. Her face was covered in shadows, so he couldn't see her expression, but her tone told him enough. "Welcome back."

"Listen, I--"

"So, how does it feel to run away? Do you feel better now that you've been gone for two days?"

He nodded. "In all honesty, I do. It helped me clear my head. And Misato, I..."

"Go on."

"I just want to say I'm sorry," Shinji admitted. "For this, and... nearly killing you the other day..."

Misato stepped into the dark room and knelt in front of the boy. "It's okay, Shinji," She slowly drew him into a motherly embrace. "I forgive you. Now, tell me another thing: do you want to pilot EVA?"

A few moments passed before he replied with firm conviction: "Yes."

"What about Hinata House? Don't you want to go back?"

"Yes," he said again.

"You could have easily done that. Section Two would never have known."

Once more his response was delayed. "Nah, running away isn't really my thing. I'm like a homing pigeon, wandering only within a certain range. And besides, I couldn't leave onee-chan here with your horrible cooking."

"Hey," Misato pouted indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shinji smirked at her. "Exactly what its **supposed** to mean, Misato."

Her fingers snaked towards his sides. "Why you little...!"

The apartment was filled with the sounds of happy shrieking until dinnertime.

"Not ramen **again!**"

"**You** cook then!"

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** Yeah, I'll admit Shinji's kendo practise scenes were born of spontaneity. It's just an aspect of his new personality that I thought I might highlight (though looking back now, I haven't maintained it). If you couldn't visualise the first practise scene, thinking of Neo vs. Smiths in "Matrix Revolutions" may help.

For those who are curious of the 'Christmas Cake Theory': In Korea and Japan, this is a metaphorical reference to the desirability of a woman at a particular age. Christmas Cakes typically sell most during the week before Christmas Day, so if the days of that week is likened to the age of a female's age in years, then that is considered, by some men, the 'prime time' for them to be married with. That's roughly how it goes, to my memory. It's also known as the 'Christmas Tree Theory'.


	4. Three: Girl Problems

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- flashback: First floor lobby, Hinata House -_**

_"Now you need a place to say..." Kanako gave the other girls a sweeping glance._

_"Wait a minute," Naru piped up. "You can't possibly be thinking of letting him stay **here?**"_

_The other girl narrowed her eyes. "And why not?"_

_A finger pointed accusingly at Keitaro. "**Look** at him! He's a **guy!**"_

_"Obviously..."_

_"Don't you get it! This is a girls dorm, remember?"_

_Someone raised their hand and interrupted. "Uh... Naru-san, I--"_

_"You don't count, Shinji-kun," the brunette chided. "You've lived here since you were a child."_

'And that makes me less of a boy, **how...?**'_ Shinji wondered. "That's not it, Naru-san. I was just curious as to why you're so adamant about disallowing Keitaro-san to stay here..."_

_That caught her off-guard. "Well, uh... I..."_

_All the other girls took the chance to throw in their two yen._

_Kitsune, questioning look: "Yeah Naru, what's wrong? It's not like he saw you naked or anything..."_

_Motoko, approving nod: "And he is an Urashima family member, no less."_

_Shinobu, teary eyes: "Don't be mean, Naru-sempai..."_

_Su, dancing around: "Meanie! Meanie! Naru's a meanie!"_

_"Fine!" Naru conceded. "We'll let him in... for now!"_

_"Welcome..." everyone but Naru cheered. "To Hinata House!"_

* * *

**Intermission (Chapter Three): Girl Problems**

* * *

**_- Landlord's room, Hinata House -_**

Keitaro lay on his futon, head turned to the side, looking at a small desk calendar. _'Whew, it's been a hectic couple of weeks... I can't believe time's passed that quickly... It feels like yesterday that I got sucker-punched through a wall-- wait, that **was** yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that--'_

His eyes narrowed at the ceiling, where a large jagged hole in the wood was. _'What the heck does Narusegawa have against me? It's not like I **purposely** tripped over and grabbed her, uh, "bits"... But the scariest thing is that I feel like I've known her from somewhere before... Just can't remember exactly where...'_

_'And then there's the other one...'_ Wearily, he got up and went outside to the veranda, leaning on the railing. _'That crazy girl with the sword; what's her name again? Oh yeah, that's right-- Aoyama. With the two of them after my tail, I should really try avoid any further accidents if I want to stay in one piece...'_

A full moon was shining down on Hinata City tonight, bathing the town in an eerie but peaceful glow. _'Wow, that's beautiful... If there's one thing I can definitely appreciate about living here in Hinata is the view...'_ Images of Naru in various revealing positions flashed by in his mind. _'Not **that** kind of view, though they're pretty good too, heh--'_ Keitaro shook his head, in an attempt to clear those thoughts.

"Can't sleep, huh?" a voice asked.

"Yeah," he replied absently. "Got a lot of things on my mind."

"I bet you do."

Keitaro sat down and leaned against the wall. "If I stop to think about it, I get overwhelmed by what has suddenly happened to me. There I was one minute, a poor unemployed second-year ronin. Then the next, I'm the owner and landlord of an all-girls dormitory!" He smiled wryly. "Still the same ronin, but I hope to change that while I'm here..."

"Good luck to you, my friend."

"Thanks, I'll need as much of it as I can get..." He yawned. "So, what are you doing up at this hour?"

A slight pause. "I'm looking for somebody: Kanako Urashima."

"My sister? She went to Tokyo-3 a while ago. Didn't you know?"

There were a few seconds of quiet humming. "In that case, I must be off. Farewell, Keitaro Urashima."

"Okay, goodbye."

Only then did he think to check the identity of the person he'd been talking to. But when he looked around, nobody was there on the veranda. Just a long-eared cat-like creature flying off towards the moon. _'What the...?'_ Keitaro rubbed his eyes and looked again. _'I must be dreaming... I'm only dreaming, right...?'_

**_- flashback: Outdoor bath, Hinata House -_**

_Carrying a bucket in one hand and a broom in the other, Keitaro cheerfully hummed to himself as he stepped into the bath area, having completely missed the sign reading 'Bath in Use: Girls' Soaking Session', hung on the shoji screen of the changing room._

_Immersed in his strangely good mood, he began to scrub the rocks on one side of the springs, oblivious to the other occupant, who sat on a tub washing herself clean. She wasn't as ignorant._

_"Hey, could you get me a towel?"_

_Keitaro froze, his heart racing but his logic stopping. _'Someone's in here! What do I do?'

_"There'll be a few by the door..."_

_Nodding dumbly, he complied, grabbing the items and going over to the girl. Thankfully her back was facing him, but he closed his eyes nonetheless and reached out to tap her on the shoulder._

_"Thanks Shinji-kun." The girl took a towel from Keitaro's arms and stood up. "Wait, you're not supposed to be--" She whirled around, which happened to be the same time Keitaro opened his eyes again. They widened further when the cloth fell down._

_Then they screamed._

_"**Eeeeeeek!** Get out! Get out!"_

_"**Aaaaaaah!** I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"_

_He scrambled to make an escape, but tripped-- on his own feet, even --and toppled over. And where else should he land but on top of the girl, who was still nude. Fortune or misfortune?_

_Keitaro could feel something in his hand, and he had no idea what it was._ 'It's soft and warm,'_ he marvelled. _'And kinda squishy too... If I'm not mistaken, it's also slightly round in shape...?' _ With a yelp, he relinquished the hold as if his hand had been burned. "I'm **so** sorry!"_

_But it was too late to stop Naru's rocket-powered fist from swinging around and launching him clear into the evening sky. Even Motoko and Shinji paused briefly in their sparring match and watched in amazement as a wailing Keitaro shrank into a small black dot in the distance._

_"That punch packs some punch," Shinji commented dryly._

_"Indeed..."_

**_- Outdoor bath, Hinata House -_**

"You know, he's been handling the job rather well," Kitsune remarked. "Not a single complaint, even after all those beatings you two--" She eyed Naru and Motoko. "--have been handing him these past weeks."

"More fool him," Naru shot back, throwing cold water over herself.

Motoko was equally cold in reply. "Urashima has fully brought it onto himself. He is exactly the type of male I despise: weak and perverted. Only worse that he's also a second-year ronin."

"Hey, don't hold **that** against he poor guy. It's not his fault that he's--"

Naru counted off fingers. "Stupid? Clumsy? Annoying? Uninteresting? I could go on..."

Somewhere, for reasons unknown, one Keitaro Urashima sneezed. And fell over spectacularly.

"For not liking him, you're certainly around him a lot... Studying, or whatever you call it these days..."

"It's nothing of the sort! And I'm not doing it because I want to!"

Kitsune just laughed and shrugged. "If you say so..."

The girls had fallen once more into a quiet enjoyment of the warm spring waters, when a loud 'crack' noise was heard. Soon followed by a male scream and a large object landing painfully onto another object-- the first being Keitaro half-dressed in a towel, the second being a section of the bath area's bamboo fence. Oh, and random branches strewn all about the impact zone.

He lay there on the broken slats, groaning in pain and feeling like he'd broken his whole body, when a little voice in his head told him he shouldn't open his eyes. As one could easily guess, he chose to ignore it. Luckily, Keitaro didn't have his glasses on. Unluckily, the person standing there in front of him was naked.

A blurry outline of an upside-down girl with short blue hair... "Shinobu?"

Tears gathering in her eyes, she tried vainly to cover herself with the small washcloth in her hand. Quickly realizing the futility of that, she kicked the landlord in the head and ran away shrieking.

Several ghastly figures loomed into Keitaro's poor vision. "Uh... I... Sorry?"

"What do you think you're doing!"

Suffice to say Keitaro received a fair few poundings in the resulting male-bashing melee.

**_- flashback: Landlord's room, Hinata House -_**

_"Okay, Keitaro-san," Shinji began. "Before you **officially** begin your tenure as landlord of Hinata House, I thought I should warn you of the, let's say, 'occupational hazards'. In other words, the tenants."_

_The older of the two males sat there in mild confusion. "Eh...?"_

_"Remember what happened yesterday?" Seeing the dreamy/stupid expression, the boy whacked him with a paper fan-- which appeared from apparently nowhere --and added, "Not **that** bit!"_

_Keitaro cringed and nodded._

_"I'm trying to help you so you don't suffer on a regular basis." Shinji gave him a sidelong look. "Unless, that is, you're into the whole S&M--"_

_Keitaro shook his head fervently._

_"Hm, odd... Anyway, who shall we begin our lessons with?"_

_"Huh?"_

_Shinji let out an exasperated sigh. "Forget I asked **anything.** Just sit there and **listen...**"_

_And so Keitaro did, for the better part of a day, learning from the younger boy many 'survival tips' he would need to avoid the wrath of certain temperamental members of Hinata's female populace. However, it is quite unfortunate for the second-year ronin that panic tends to override memory functions. If this weren't so, then he could have remembered one very important thing._

_"When all forms of reasoning fail," the boy concluded. "Duck."_

_Then he lashed out with a fist, which the older teen caught straight on the face._

_"Ow! What was that for?"_

_"I guess you'll need reflex training too..."_

**_- Landlord's room, Hinata House -_**

Keitaro's whole body was sore. He tried not to think of the pain, for it only brought on more memories of pain. _'What an absolute **disaster** of a night... First the sneezing fit, then the bar of soap, then the tree breaking...'_ He shuddered and flopped back onto his futon. "This can't be a dream; it hurts too much..."

The 'hatch' on the ceiling opened and Naru peered down. "You're such an idiot."

"Thanks for the encouragement..."

"Anytime idiot," she said sweetly, tossing down a box of band-aids that hit him in the head. "Now shut your mouth and go to sleep! We've got prep school tomorrow, if you don't remember!" Then she closed the lid on the hole.

_'If that had been a door, then she would've slammed it...'_ Keitaro thought, putting away the small box. Tired after the events of the last hour, he fell asleep quickly, a small smile crossing his face as one of his treasured memories played back in his mind.

_-dream-_

'My first love... Well, my **only** love, but let's not dwell on that...'

_"Have a band-aid, Kei..."_

_A young Keitaro Urashima looked down at his finger, to which a band-aid had been carefully wrapped around. "Thank you...?"_

_He looked up at the girl. She had her back turned to him, so he couldn't see her face. "Huh? Her name... What's her name?" _

'I must really be stupid...'

_"Kei..." The girl's face was still obscured by her hair. "Have you forgotten my name?"_

_"Er...!" Keitaro began to sweat nervously. "I-I-I wouldn't do that!"_

_"Humph!" Her voice had suddenly changed, and her hair had grown longer._

'What the...! Now she looks just like--'

_Naru turned around, arms crossed. "Liar!"_

_-end dream-_

**_- First floor lobby, Hinata House -_**

Keitaro looked on with mixed jealously and curiosity at the girls gathered by the phone. From what he could gather from their various squeals and laughter, they were quite enjoying their time with whoever was on the other end of the line. Each one had a bright smile on their face by the time they were done talking.

"Hey, ronin!"

A yell broke him out of his reverie. "Huh?"

"Your turn," Su grinned, then joined the other girls going upstairs for breakfast. "Yay, food!"

Confused, he walked over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hey, Keitaro-san! Lost count of the bruises yet?"

"Uh, it's Shinji, right?"

Keitaro swore he heard the boy sigh and smack himself.

"Just answer me this: how exactly is it that you managed to get into more trouble with the girls in **three weeks** than I ever did in the **four years** I lived there with them?"

"I, uh..."

Shinji laughed. "At least you're getting along..."

Keitaro couldn't quite share the same light-hearted attitude. "I suppose that's one way of seeing it..."

"Don't worry about it; I think you'll grow on them. Though I can't guarantee it'll be painless."

"I'll have to agree with you there."

"Keitaro-san? Duck."

This time he complied promptly, and was astonished to see Su sailing overhead, one leg outstretched for a kick. Landing, she was momentarily puzzled before a knowing grin crossed her face.

"Nice trick, Shinji!" She yelled into the phone, before running upstairs again.

"How'd you do that?"

The boy laughed again. "That's for me to know, and you to find out. A hint: keep your ears open."

**_- flashback: Room 202 (Kanako's), Hinata House -_**

_The two Urashima siblings sat opposite one another at the small table, quietly sipping their tea._

_Kanako put her cup down. "I'm amazed you recognised me, onii-san," she teased._

_"In all honesty, I was too, heh..."_

_A brief silence passed between the pair, as Keitaro took a long sip._

_"Onii-san, are you... going to try again?"_

_Keitaro rolled his now-empty cup in his hands. "Yeah... I am. Although I hate doing this to Mom and Dad, I really want to get into Tokyo-2 University... My childhood promise--"_

_"Is just a childhood promise, onii-san."_

_"Not to me, Kanako," he said defensively. "It's been my sole guiding light in life. If I give up now..." Trailing off, he looked around the room. Neat and tidy, it was almost like nobody lived here. However, that logic didn't explain the small stack of taped-up boxes in a far corner. "Kana-chan?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Correct me if I'm wrong, but--"_

_Shinji opened the door-- "Oh, sorry." --then quickly closed it._

_"--you're leaving...?"_

_Kanako smiled wanly, and picked up a backpack that had been by her feet. "It's a shame I can't stay here and help you, but I guess--" She seemed to look through the wall to where Shinji was waiting. "--I'm following my guiding light too..."_

_Keitaro nodded understandingly. "Good luck, Kanako."_

_"I think you're the one that needs it, not me." She took a step out of the room, but paused. "By the way, your oh-so-timely appointment of landlord? That was me, and a little call to Grandmother."_

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** It's already been established (from FFN feedback) that the scene arrangement in this chapter is somewhat haphazard and difficult to make heads or tails of at first. But I have kept this chapter (and all other chapters) relatively unmodified, as to present both my successes and failures as a beginner author. As always, thanks for reading, and all feedback is welcome either in reviews or to "cala1019" at Gmail.

The following Omake is a response to select reviews to Chapter Two I received from FFN readers.

* * *

**_- Omake: Review Response -_**

1) Doggystyle (anonymous)  
--As my first bad review ever, this deserves to be addressed first. Although it kinda stings to know this person won't give my story a second chance, I appreciate the honest comment. I personally don't believe that I made Shinji a 'badass', as it was so described. Practising a martial art such as kendo requires a certain mindset, and the way that I portrayed this probably caused the confusion. Apologies.

2) DarkFusion (signed)  
--I am humbled by your most generous compliment. Simply put, your request for Gendo-bashing will be taken into consideration. As for Mana Kirishima, 'no guarantees' is the only answer I can give at this point. I never thought about putting her in, but something may happen. Any suggestions and 'Girlfriend of Steel' storyline tidbits would be helpful and influential.

3) Kraven Ergeist (signed)  
--Thank you for your excellent omake suggestion! Be on the lookout for 'The Adventures of Kuro and Pen-Pen' in future omakes! If I can come up with a sufficient number of ideas, it may even become a mini-series, who knows?

4) Alan-SG (signed)  
--You are indeed correct; thanks for pointing that out. Apart from the omake in Chapter One, there were no other scenes that dealt with Kanako's age, so luckily no big alterations were needed. You know, that new piece of information makes for an interesting and somewhat evil possibility...

5) Samurai Demon-God Sekikage (signed)  
--To answer your question, yes, I could perhaps continue this story in the Love Hina universe. I am painstakingly at work on my personal Love Hina manga collection, but if absolutely necessary, I can just hire out the complete series for such a purpose. I may however, get lost in translation.


	5. Four: Like Rubies

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- flashback: #2 Test bay, NERV -_**

"_Unit-00 is out of control!"_

_"Abort the test!" Gendo ordered. "Cut power!"_

_"Unit-00 has switched to auxiliary power! Thirty-five seconds to total shutdown!"_

_"Commander! It's dangerous-- please stay back!"_

_Gendo stood firmly in place and watched on as the berserk EVA repeatedly threw punches towards him, severely cracking the observation window and leaving sizeable dents in the reinforced titanium walls._

_"Auto-eject activating!"_

_"**NO!**"_

_The hatch on the Evangelion's back burst open, and the entry plug was shot forcibly out of the armoured giant. It collided with the ceiling at high speed, and instead of plummeting straight back down, it turned at a right angle and travelled along parallel, falling only once it hit the other corner of the chamber._

_"**REI!**"_

_"Wire cage! Special bakelite! Hurry!"_

_From a multitude of ports that were placed in the sides of the test bay, jets of thick red liquid gushed out and splashed all over the still-violent EVA, hardening almost immediately to stop the Unit from further possible motion. Meanwhile, Gendo had rushed down several levels and ran towards the fallen plug._

_"**REI!**"_

_Steam billowed off the surface of the superheated metal, but regardless, he grabbed the handles of the exit hatch and pulled, trying his best to ignore the searing pain in his hands. His glasses fell off and shattered in his effort, but he dismissed that also. Distractions couldn't be afforded right now._

_"**REI!**"_

_With one last heave, the door popped open and LCL spilled out onto the floor. Gendo looked inside the entry plug, where the blue-haired girl sat, unmoving on top of the control pod. "Rei, are you alright!"_

_Rei lifted her head-- blood was flowing down her face --and answered weakly, "Yes, sir..."_

_"I see." The elder Ikari both looked and sounded much relieved. "That's good to hear."_

* * *

**Chapter Four: Like Rubies**

* * *

**_- Impact zone, Tokyo-3 -_**

Where the massive corpse of the Fourth Angel lay, a myriad of framework structures had been hastily constructed in every direction both over and around. Scientists and workers scurried busily about like ants, each of their heads topped with a white safety helmet.

"So this is the Angel I defeated..." Shinji stood in front of towers of scaffolding, craning his head up. _'It's definitely not pretty... But considering it's been dead for three days, it doesn't smell or show any signs of deterioration at all. Interesting...'_

"Yes, sir. The degradation was so severe that it could hardly be called a perfect sample, but..." The rather animated explanation of a scientist walking by caught Shinji's attention and he turned around to see who. His gaze froze at the sight of **him** there.

Gendo's eyes met the boy's for a few short but extremely tense seconds. Then he broke off the contact and continued on to where half of what was once the glowing red core of the Angel was lowered. Not a stride was missed during the brief exchange.

Shinji watched as the man examined the broken core intently, scanning it up and down, even knocking on it several times as if it were a giant watermelon. However, when he brought his hands back down and held them behind his back, Shinji saw the palms were etched with criss-crosses of pale skin. _'Scars...? From what though? They look like--'_ "Burns...?"

"What-'cha lookin' at, Shin-chan?"

Hands slapped down on his shoulders, and he had to restrain himself from physically retaliating. "Hey Misato," he greeted, masking his slight surprise. _'How did she manage to sneak up on me like that?'_

"So, you were watching your dad, eh? Starin' pretty hard, too..."

"Well, it looked like his hands were burned. And I was just wondering--"

"Hey Ritsuko!" Misato called over her shoulder. "You know anything about that? About the Commander's hands getting burned?"

Ritsuko put down her cup of coffee. "It happened before you two got here. Unit-00 went berserk during an activation test... You've heard about that, right?"

Shinji nodded. _'That must be when Ayanami got hurt...'_

**_- Shooting range, NERV -_**

Kanako straightened her arm and squinted down the barrel of the 9mm pistol held in her hand. _'Point and click,'_ she mentally reiterated, and quickly fired off two rounds at the target. Then a thoughtful expression flitting across her face, she pulled the trigger once more with a smirk.

In her mind's eye, she saw the first two bullets travel in slow motion towards a helpless Gendo Ikari, who stood frozen in fear as the projectiles tore through his skull and chest in a violent spray of blood. As the body began to fall backwards, the third and last shot impacted with his groin.

"Talk about overkill," someone said from behind her. "Glad I'm not a guy."

Switching the safety on, Kanako turned around. "Katsuragi-- I mean, Misato-san..."

"Pass that here?" Misato received the weapon stock-first. "They **actually** gave you one of these?"

"It's only standard issue," the girl replied nonchalantly. "Came with the job; what can I say?"

The woman simply rolled her eyes, though seemingly wanting to say something more. She handed Kanako back the gun, tapping her own forehead. "One shot is all you need. Don't waste ammo shooting anywhere else, unless it's to disable."

"I can easily incapacitate a person without a weapon," Kanako said confidently, holstering the Beretta.

"Commonly known as a knock to the head."

"That's just crude, Misato-san. It lacks in style and finesse."

Misato shrugged. "Hey, whatever works." She put an arm around the girl's shoulders. "C'mon, let's go. Shinji's making us dinner. He's charmingly volunteered to do **all** the cooking from now on."

Kanako chose wisely not to comment on that, though silently she was much relieved. _'Finally, **real** food...'_

**_- Katsuragi residence, Tokyo-3 -_**

Shinji put the last finishing touches on the three plates of donkatsu (pork cutlet). Like Shinobu, he valued the appearance of meals as much as the actual taste. _'Though I remember Naru-san usually ending up disregarding the former... As for Misato, I'm just amazed that she manages to keep such a figure on such a diet...'_

"Shinjiiiii..."

Placing the plates on the table, he glanced back to see Misato drying her hair, having just come out of the shower. Noticing she wasn't wearing a bra under her skimpy sleeveless top, he ventured to guess that she wasn't wearing panties under the short shorts either. Not that he said anything about it.

Kanako did. "Must you dress like **that?**"

"You don't like it?" Misato slowly undid a button, winking. "Would you rather I... take it off?"

The teens traded a look, barely noticeable smirks growing on their faces, mirroring each other perfectly. Kanako sidled up to Misato and latched onto her arm, tracing a finger down it. "You might as well," she purred. "It's not like you've got a lot on anyway..."

Restraining himself from bursting out laughing, Shinji sat the stunned woman down in a chair, whispering softly into her ear, "You really should eat your dinner before it gets cold, Misa-chan. Protein helps keep stamina up, don't you know..."

Her conscious processes came clattering to a stop. She just sat there still as a statue, only vaguely aware of the loud 'chi-click' noise of a camera shutter. It took her several minutes for her mind to unfreeze and form coherent thoughts, then which she came to realise the two hysterical teenagers rolling about on the floor, tears in their eyes.

When they too noticed that Misato had recovered from the trauma, they stood up and wiped away the tears. Taking their places at the table, Shinji and Kanako began to eat their dinner quietly as if nothing had ever happened. Misato also started her donkatsu meal, which was excellent, when she remembered about the objects in her hand. "Hey Shinji?"

"Yeah?"

"Here, take these," She slid something across the table. "They're your and Rei's security cards."

"Thanks. But why are you giving me Rei's?"

"Ritsuko say she forgot to give it to her. Could you drop it off at her place tomorrow before you go to HQ?"

He nodded. "Oh, okay."

**_- Apartment 402, Tokyo-3 -_**

Shinji looked up at the simple nameplate reading '402, Ayanami'. _'She lives alone in a place like this?'_ He tried the doorbell, finding it to be useless. Tentatively, he opened the door-- surprisingly unlocked --and peered in. "Hello? It's Shinji Ikari..."

Getting no response, he stepped inside. "Ayanami, are you home?"

Then the desolate atmosphere of the apartment hit him. The only illumination was the sunlight streaming in through the single gap between the closed curtains, and furniture was limited to one each of bed, chair, dresser, and small fridge about Pen-Pen's height. _'Décor needs a bit of work...'_

A pair of glasses sitting on top of the drawers caught his attention, and he picked them up. The lenses were cracked, and the frame twisted slightly. _'Rei never wore glasses, did she?'_ Then he saw the name etched into the side of a leg: 'G. Ikari'. _'They're **his...** But why does Rei have them?'_

The sound of a sliding door opening made him turn around in surprise. He was only more startled to find Rei standing there with nothing but a towel draped around her shoulders, only barely covering the intimate parts of her body. He quickly slapped a hand over his eyes. "I can't see anything, I swear!"

Her slippers clip-clopped on the floor as she walked-- towards him, it sounded like. _'What a Keitaro-like situation I've gotten myself into... All that needs to happen now is a Naru-punch exit...'_

When the footsteps stopped, Shinji thought it the appropriate time for him to promptly get out and allow Rei her well-deserved privacy. Of course, he didn't know that the girl was crouched down in front him, picking up the glasses he never realised he'd dropped. His foot went forward at the same time hers did, resulting in the two teens colliding and toppling spectacularly to the floor.

As the shock of the fall wore off, Shinji discovered his gaze resting upon twin orbs of smooth white flesh. _'Are these...?'_ Pulse quickening and a blush creeping across his cheeks, his eyes reluctantly travelled up and met Rei's, becoming trapped there. _'Her eyes, they're so mesmerising...'_

Eventually, his brain came to the conclusion that he should really get up. Shinji made no hesitation to hastily get off the girl and make as much distance as possible, without actually leaving altogether. He clutched a hand to his chest, where his heart pounded away wildly. _'C'mon Ikari, take a breast-- I mean, **breath!** Take a breath!'_

"What can I do for you?"

"Y-your... security card," he replied, swallowing to force his voice into neutrality. "It's been renewed, and Misato sent me here to give it to you... I tried the bell, but it was broken and the door was--"

"Leave the card over there, then."

"A-alright." Shinji took the card out of his pocket and put in on the dresser. "And Ayanami... I'm sorry..."

**_- Test observation box, NERV -_**

"2.5 until absolute borderline."

Shinji stood in front of the observation window, his eyes focused on the orange EVA in the test bay, but his mind still lingering on the happenings of not half an hour ago.

_-flashback-_

_Shinji trailed behind Rei, still somewhat embarrassed by the 'incident' from earlier. Although he usually didn't mind silence, the tension of this moment was getting to him, and he desperately tried to strike up a conversation._

_"It's your reactivation test with Unit-00 today, right?"_

_The girl didn't react._

_"Aren't you scared?"_

_Her soft reply was simple. "Of what?"_

_"Getting back into your EVA. You could be injured again."_

_"Are you scared of yours?"_

_The fact that she threw his own question back at him without answering it annoyed him slightly. "Not really," he replied. "Though I'd be lying if I said it doesn't unnerve me on a deeper level."_

_"Can't you have faith in your father's work?"_

_His step faltered. "No. I refuse to look up at him in that way. In **any** way..."_

_Rei stopped and met his eyes. "I do," she affirmed. "I have faith in him."_

_Her usually emotionless voice held absolute conviction as she said:_

_"The only thing in this world I have faith in is the Commander."_

_-end flashback-_

_'Why?'_ Shinji wondered. _'Why does she think so much of him?'_

"Borderline cleared! Unit-00 has been activated. Now commencing linkage test."

"Ikari!" Fuyutsuki put a phone down. "An unidentified flying object is heading this way. It's probably the Fifth Angel," the older man concluded with an expression of concern.

"Abort the test! All personnel, go to Level One yellow alert!"

Fuyutsuki asked, "Can we use Unit-00?"

"It's not battle-ready yet," Gendo replied, turning to the woman beside him. "What about Unit-01?"

"We can have it up in 380 seconds."

"Good. Scramble it." His attention was placed on Shinji. "What's the matter? Get going!"

_'Foolish of me to actually think he'd care,'_ he thought bitterly. "Yes... sir."

**_- Tactical operations room, NERV -_**

The viewscreen showed a balloon replica of Unit-01 suspended above a frigate. In mere seconds, a beam attack from the Angel tore it to shreds. "Dummy vaporised!"

"Next."

A large mounted gun rolled out of its hiding place and fired off a shot towards the Angel, only to be deflected by an octagonal barrier that shimmered into place. In a flash of light, a counterattack was launched. "Type-12 self-propelled mortar destroyed!"

"According to the data collected thus far," Makoto reported. "It seems the target automatically eliminates enemies coming within a fixed radius."

"The instant they enter that radius, its particle cannon destroys them with 100 accuracy. Which means we can't get close enough to neutralise its AT Field for close-quarters combat..." Misato trailed off into thought. "What about the enemy's AT Field?"

"Still active," another tech announced. "It's so powerful you can actually the phase-shift space with the naked eye." A still-image blinked onto the video, showing the mortar being turned away.

"It's practically perfect in both attack and defense. The thing's an impregnable flying fortress. So... what about that drill?"

"A bit with a diameter of 17.5 metres, currently drilling towards NERV HQ. It's reached the #2 armour plate."

"What's its ETA to reach HQ?"

"Tomorrow morning, at zero hours, 6 minutes and 54 seconds," Makoto read. "By that time, we believe it will have cut through all twenty-two layers of armoured plating and reached NERV HQ."

Misato bit her lip. "Less than ten hours, then..." She pressed the comm. link button on the console beside her. "Dr. Akagi. What's the status of Unit-01?"

"The chest is completely melted down to the third armour plate," came the reply. "We're lucky that the functional centre wasn't damaged. We'll have the armour swapped out in three hours."

"What about Unit-00?"

"Reactivation is no problem, but there are still some feedback problems."

"Damn! She's just not battle-ready!" Cutting the link, she turned back around. "And Shinji? What's the status of Unit-01's pilot?"

"No physical damage. The nerve pulse is a bit unstable, but within acceptable parameters. He's still under sedation."

Misato sighed. "Doesn't look too good does it?"

Makoto asked in a slightly cynical tone, "Shall we raise the white flag?"

"Nice idea! But before we try that..." The woman wore a serious expression as she tapped a pen on her forehead. "We've gotta try everything we can. We'll have plenty of time to regret our decisions when we're dead."

**_- flashback/dream: Annex rooftop, Hinata House -_**

_"There you are, Shin-chan."_

_Shinji turned around to find Kanako standing there, looking slightly vexed with her hands on her hips._

_"Onee-chan..."_

_She came to sit down beside him as he watched the sun sink below the horizon. "Well, are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or am I forced to guess what's been making you so depressed today?"_

_He let out a long sigh. "It's her birthday today..."_

_"Who...?"_

_"My mom... It's kinda funny though, how I'm able to remember that, but not what she looked like..."_

_Kanako drew an arm around his shoulders. "Lucky you. I know nothing about my parents."_

_"It hurts equally either way, I think. Knowing or not knowing."_

_Sniffling, the girl dabbed at her eye with a sleeve. "Now look what you've done!"_

_"Sorry..."_

_"Baka," she teased, shoving him._

_"Hey!" Shinji shoved back._

_Together they tumbled about the balcony, laughing and play-fighting. Suddenly they felt like their were little children once again, innocent and ignorant of the world around them, as they rolled this way and that. For minutes they tussled, until Kanako simply stopped. She lay back and looked up at the sky, which was now speckled with pinpricks of light. "The stars are bright tonight..."_

_"Yeah."_

_Silence fell between the pair, soon broken by a sob. "Shin-chan?"_

_"I miss her, onee-chan!" the boy choked out, curling up beside the girl. "I miss--"_

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** Thanks everybody. Feedback is appreciated through reviews or to "cala1019" at Gmail.

* * *

**_- Omake: Scene 4 variation -_**

"You don't like it?" Misato slowly undid a button, winking. "Would you rather I... take it off?"

The teens traded a look, barely noticeable smirks growing on their faces, mirroring each other perfectly. Kanako sidled up to Misato and latched onto her arm, tracing a finger down it. "You might as well," she purred. "It's not like you've got a lot on anyway..."

Restraining himself from bursting out laughing, Shinji sat the stunned woman down in a chair, whispering softly into her ear, "You really should eat your dinner before it gets cold, Misa-chan. Protein helps keep stamina up, don't you know..."

Shaking off the initial shock, Misato grinned deviously and pulled the two into tight headlocks. "Mmm... That reminds me," she murmured in a sultry tone. "It's been years since I last enjoyed a good **threesome...**"

Kanako and Shinji's eyes widened, and they struggled to break free. Their attempts to make verbal protest was hindered by the fact that their faces were pressed against her breasts. The muffled cries only served in tickling the woman, who began to drag them towards her room.

Approximately two hours later...

"I figured Shinji was a screamer," Misato moaned, licking her fingers clean. "But Kana-chan! Ahh--"


	6. Five: Tokyo3 Nightlife

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- Surgical ward III, NERV -_**

"--Mom..."

Shinji awoke in the hospital bed, tears in his eyes. As the sleep faded from his vision, he saw Rei's face. For a reason he didn't know or understand, she seemed very familiar to him-- a reminder of someone he thought he knew from somewhere. "Ayanami..."

From the serving cart that she'd wheeled in, Rei produced a tray of assorted stuff. "Here's some food." She poured some milk into a cup. "They said to get you to eat something once you woke up."

"Oh... Thanks." He picked up the fork and began to eat slowly. _'This... **looks** like an egg...'_

"We leave in 60 minutes."

He simply nodded, having food in his mouth. _'It even... **tastes** like an egg...'_

Rei procured a small black notebook from her pocket. "Here is a schedule for the operation that will begin at zero hours tomorrow. Shall I read it?" She didn't wait for the answer. "'Pilots Ikari and Ayanami will assemble at the cage at 1730 hours. At 1800 hours, EVA Unit-01 and Unit-00 will be activated. 1805 hours, launch. At 1830, arrive at the temporary base on Mt. Futago. Await further orders.'"

She shut the book and concluded, "'Commence operation at midnight.'"

_'Technology, huh? Don't know how Misato manages to screw **this** up...'_ Shinji swallowed, shrugging internally. "Alright. Gotcha."

"Well, then." Rei turned away, heading for the door. "I'll see you in sixty minutes."

A sudden impulse compelled him to call after the departing girl. "Hey, wait!"

Stopping in her tracks, she looked back at him. "Yes?"

"Can we, uh... talk?"

The slight tilting of her head indicated Rei's puzzlement. "Aren't we already doing so?"

"No... I meant 'talk', as in, a conversation. You know," Shinji struggled briefly to find a definition, gesturing wildly with his hands to fill the gap. "A spoken exchange of thoughts, opinions, and feelings?"

"I'm sorry, I must go. Maybe some other time, when you're..." Rei averted her gaze. "Dressed."

Shinji had never noticed how far his blanket had dropped down. _'Oh, well, I suppose we're... even now...?'_

* * *

**Chapter Five: Tokyo-3 Nightlife**

* * *

**_- EVA standby point, Mt. Futago -_**

Shinji sat, precariously balanced on a railing of the EVA-shoulder-height platform, looking over at the city as block by block it plunged into darkness. _'All the lights have gone out...'_ He glanced upwards. _'Makes it easier to see the stars, and even a full moon seems brighter than usual... I like it.'_

His stargazing eyes suddenly gravitated down, to where Rei sat, still and silent. "It's a beautiful night, don't you think? I'll have no regrets if I were to die under this brilliant moonlight."

The girl didn't say anything, but her eyes shifted subtly in his direction.

"Ayanami... Why do you pilot EVA?"

"Because... it's my link."

"To what? Is it... to him?"

There was a brief silence. "I have nothing else," Rei finally answered. "It's like I was born to pilot EVA. If I stopped piloting EVA, I would have nothing left. That's the same as being dead."

"Is that... what you really believe?" Shinji asked, masking his incredulity. _'That you would be nothing without EVA? Your sole purpose, to endure this--'_

"It's what I've always been told to believe."

_'--pain and suffering? And for who? For humanity? For **him?**'_ The boy could feel his ire rise at the thought of his father. "Don't," he said, his voice holding a slight edge. Immediately realizing it, he added softly, "Please."

Rei's look seemed to question him, but instead they turned downwards at a small display on the back of her hand. "It's time." She stood. "Let's go."

"Right." Shinji got off the railing and carefully climbed onto Unit-01's back.

"Ikari."

"Yes?"

"You won't die." Rei glanced back at him. "I'll protect you."

Shinji stood and watched the girl step into the entry plug, the hatch closing automatically behind her. He soon followed suit, but the last thing she said lingered in Shinji's mind. _'"Goodbye"?'_

**_- Mobile command station, Mt. Futago -_**

"Ten seconds to discharge. Nine, eight, seven, six--"

"High energy reading within the target!"

_'Damn, it's spotted us!'_ Misato bit her lip. _'But if we can get in the first shot...!'_

The markers centered on the screen with a loud 'beep'.

"**Fire!**"

A twisted jet of radiant energy burst out of the positron rifle and screamed its way towards its intended victim, at exactly the same time said victim unleashed its own deadly attack. The two rays sped through the night, looking like they would collide with each other but instead warping off-course, missing both targets by several hundred meters.

"**AAAHHH!**" The command crew screamed in unison as the force of the resulting explosion violently shook the vehicle they were in, throwing anyone standing to the floor and showering everything with broken shards of window glass.

On the main display, a red alert message popped up, accompanied by its own blaring alarm sound. "The enemy drill has penetrated the Geofront!"

"The second shot-- **hurry!**"

"Exchanging fuse now!"

"Get the barrel cooled down!" Misato yelled into the comm. link, "Move it, Shinji! Buy us some time!"

"I'm getting another high energy reading from the target!"

_'Damn it! It's too soon!'_

**_- Mt. Futago, Tokyo-3 -_**

_'Hurry... Come **on...**'_ Shinji's finger trembled and sweat rolled down his face. While the HUD only beeped incessantly, he saw Rei's shield melt away under the Angel's relentless assault. However, that loss didn't stop her from stepping forward to take the brunt and cover Unit-01.

"**Ayanami!**"

Finally, the markers centered once more.

"**Now!**" Shinji heard Misato shout. "**Fire!**"

She needn't have bothered, as split seconds later, the rifle's shot blasted through the Angel dead-center, igniting it and sent the burning mass crashing down to the city. The following sound of something else large collapsing distracted Shinji from his moment of victory.

"Rei!"

Dropping the positron rifle, he turned the fallen Unit-00 over and ripped off the back hatch, letting the entry plug slide out and jet out its LCL contents. _'Just hold on! I'll save you...'_ Placing the plug gently on the ground, Shinji ejected his own and jumped straight down from the EVA's back, landing with a forward roll. _'Luckily I train for this sort of stuff...'_

He gripped the handles, and almost let go immediately. _**'He** did it barehanded... **I'm** wearing an insulated suit... I should be able to handle this...'_ With a mixed cry of pain and effort, Shinji turned the handles, jumping back a step when the door burst open along with a flood of LCL. He looked inside the entry plug, where a girl lay motionless on the pilot module.

"Rei!"

Reaching out, he took her shoulders and carefully shook her.

Rei's eyes opened slowly, and at first all she could see was the dark outline of a person, saying something she couldn't currently hear. _'Commander Ikari...?'_ It wasn't, as she discovered upon the full return of her vision. "Ikari..."

Shinji let out a sigh of relief, and something else he himself didn't notice. A tear.

"You're... crying again..." Rei said, almost in a whisper. "You were crying yesterday... in your sleep. Why are you so sad?"

The boy coughed-- it had meant to be a laugh, but a few signals had gotten messed up in his throat. And more tears were beginning to flow. "I'm crying because I'm happy... Happy you're alive."

"So you cry when you're happy, too." The girl looked to the side. "I'm sorry, I... I'm not sure... what expression I should make... at a time like-- like this." In a quieter voice she added, "Even though I should be happy..."

"Well, if you're happy--" Shinji wiped away his tears. "--you should smile."

Rei stared at him briefly with an expression he couldn't decipher. Not knowing what to do, he offered her a hand. "Can you stand?"

Closing her eyes, she took hold of it. Then, opening her eyes again, she smiled. It was only a slight curve of her lips, but the way the moonlight danced upon her face and sparkled in her eyes, made it a sight Shinji would remember forever. "What's the matter?"

That broke the boy out of his trance. "Uh, nothing... Let's go." Taking her arm, he placed it over his shoulders, letting Rei put her weight on him. "Rei... Don't say 'goodbye' before leaving on a mission; it's kinda depressing. We might not have anything besides the EVA program right now, but as long as we stay alive, we can always find other things to live for. And someday... we'll be glad that we survived."

**_- Katsuragi residence, Tokyo-3 -_**

Misato and Shinji walked into the house to find an angry-looking Kanako Urashima standing there, hands on her hips. "Shinji Ikari! What did I tell you about playing with robots and dangerous weapons? And** hours **past your bedtime, no less!" Her serious expression quickly broke down into a grin as she rushed forward to wrap Shinji in a hug. "Okaeri nasai (welcome home), Shin-chan."

"Tadaima (I'm back)," he sighed, returning the hug and feeling his tension dissipate.

"Congratulations, Colonel Katsuragi." Kanako extended a hand. "Humanity lives another day, thanks to you."

Giving the girl a tired smile, Misato shook the hand. "I'll let the sarcasm pass, but I'll need a beer for that."

"I would get you one, but..." Taking a step back, she almost fell over from the dead weight of a sleeping Shinji, hanging around her neck by his arms. _'Must've been quite a night... Tch, what an understatement...'_ Rolling her eyes, Kanako lifted the boy up and took him to his room leaving the woman behind to fetch her own drink from the fridge.

Laying Shinji down on the futon, she knelt down beside him, stroking his hair. _'I'm sorry, Shinji... Sorry that I can't be there when you'd really need someone by your side... You may be strong enough handle everything thrown at you, but remember that you can always share your pain... with me.'_ Placing a kiss on the boy's forehead, she left the room.

Out in the kitchen, Misato was waiting for the girl. "Hey, catch."

In one fluid motion, Kanako snatched the can-- soda, much to her surprise --out the air, sat down at the table and popped the top off. "For the fate of the world, kanpai (cheers)."

"Kanpai."

The pair stared out of the window at the still-darkened city, sipping their drinks in a comfortable silence. They remained like that for nearly ten minutes, until Misato stood up. She went to the sink and tipped out what looked like pretty much half the can. Tossing the empty vessel into the bin, she headed for her room.

"Goodnight, Kanako."

"Goodnight, Misato-san."

**_- Visual operations centre, NERV -_**

_-video-_

_Caption: Off the coast of New Yokosuka, 3:00pm... United Nations Pacific Fleet_

_With a huge surge of water, a battleship was gutted right in the middle._

_"Contact lost with the _Tempest!_"_

_"Where are the status reports!"_

_"**Damn!** What in the **hell** is going on?"_

_Streaks of white shot out from the side of another ship, headed towards a large underwater object._

_"Four torpedoes-- dead on! Why won't it sink?"_

_"Target approaching rear transport ship!"_

_Just as the bow of the mentioned craft was torn to shreds, a building-sized humanoid leapt clear into sky, ripping a huge sheet of canvas off itself as if it were some kind of disguise. It came to a crouched landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier in the center of the convoy. Standing up, the red Evangelion withdrew the cutter-like progressive knife from its shoulder compartment and braced itself._

_Approaching with terrifying speed, the massive hulk of the Sixth Angel threw itself out of the water and towards the EVA, whose response was slashing a long bleeding gash down the length of the Angel's body as it sidestepped underneath._

_-end video-_

"After this, two battleships fired at it point-blank... It was over." Ritsuko commented. "True, she had help from the Pacific Fleet, but she defeated the Angel within thirty-six seconds... Before the internal batteries could run out. Evasive manoeuvres, decision making, piloting skills-- whatever you look at, she's perfect. Hard to believe-- the Second Child's abilities surpass even the rumours..."

"But why was the Angel there?" Misato wondered aloud.

"It could have been after Unit-02. It was being transported."

"And where's 02 now?"

"Cage No. 5-- cold storage. Asuka's checked into a hotel." Ritsuko took an appreciative sip of her coffee.

Shinji looked up at the giant screen, which had begun replaying the video. _'The way that EVA moves is almost... human. The pilot's sync ratio must be up in the eighties or nineties...'_ "What's the Second Child like?"

"Interested, Shin-chan?"

"She's very bright, that's one thing. Graduated from a German university at fourteen."

"University...?"

Misato cast a funny gaze at Shinji and Rei, who stared right back. Finally, she said with a shrug, "She could be the most normal one of the bunch."

The boy glared back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," the woman waved off his question. "I'll introduce you to her tomorrow, after we go through the official procedures. Come to HQ as soon as school let's out, okay?"

"Right."

**_- Streets of Tokyo-3 -_**

"Hey Toji-- Look!"

Kensuke pointed excitedly towards a certain arcade machine and the redheaded girl arched over its controls, busily at work picking out a doll with the dangling metal claw. Her short yellow dress flared over her hips, revealing good portion of her smooth thighs.

"Whoa, whadda babe!" Toji exclaimed.

"Totally my type." Kensuke declared with hearts in his eyes.

"Yeah, she's pretty cute." Shinji offered, only to receive angry glares from the two.

"Ikari!" the jock roared, pushing him back. "Yer not allowed to look!"

"Er... Sure."

Kensuke and Toji crouched down and crept slowly forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of something a bit more intimate, but were distracted by a sudden sharp pain in the back of their heads. They turned around to find Shinji standing behind them, slapping a paper fan menacingly into one hand. "Manners, boys..."

Meanwhile, the claws had slipped and dropped the precious prize they'd been holding.

"Ach! Schiesse!" The girl took a step back and launched a kick that dented the side of the machine.

Toji turned away. "Now, too bad about her personality."

Kensuke, however, instantly recovered from the moment of dismay. "Just once, I wish a girl like her would order me around!"

Shinji went to pull the nerd away, but the girl noticed them. "Hey! What are **you** guys looking at?"

Toji and Shinji: "Oh, nuttin'/Nothing!"

Kensuke: "Oh wow, she's spoken to me..."

Approaching the trio, she put forward a hand and demanded, "Gimme 100 yen."

"Huh?" Toji blinked. "100 yen?"

"I'm out of tokens. It's not much-- 100 each." Her eyes narrowed, and she folded her arms across her chest. "Don't tell me you don't have **any** money on you. Of course, if you **are** broke, that could explain the way you dress. Pathetic."

"Ya bleach-brained bitch! Whadidyasay?" The angered boy grabbed the girl's wrist. "Dontcha get on no high horse cause ya think yer cute!"

"Ewww! Don't touch me, monkeyboy! Let me go!" The girl pulled back, with more force than was necessary, and bumped backwards into another person behind her. Unfortunately, this caused them to lose concentration. A 'Game Over' message blinked onto the screen.

"Oops! Sorry."

The person whirled around and roared, pointing an accusatory finger. "You think sorry's gonna cut it? Finally got to the last level! Whatcha gonna do 'bout that, huh?"

Shinji stepped forward. "Hey, leave her alone. Accidents can happen, okay?"

"Accidents? I'll show ya accidents!" He called over his shoulder. "Hey guys! Wanna come get some?"

As a group of thug-like brutes came ambling out of the arcade, Shinji shifted into a fighting stance, noticing the girl beside him following suit. "Two on seven-- not a fair fight for them, is it?"

She just smirked. "Let's kick some ass."

**_- Geofront entrance corridor D-08, Tokyo-3 -_**

"So, onee-chan. When exactly were you going to tell me about this... job of yours?"

The girl's expression, even behind sunglasses, was nothing but pure guilt. "As I said, I'm just doing it for--"

Shinji stopped and turned to face her. "You're not answering my question."

"Okay; I wasn't!" she blurted. "But it's part of the job description-- really! Agents aren't supposed to tell their assigned person that they're following them around virtually everywhere! I mean--"

"Shh, it's alright; calm down."

Kanako sniffled. "You're not mad?"

"Of course not." He put an arm around her shoulders and began walking again. "I hope Kensuke's alright. That looked a rather nasty bruise on his cheek. Though it's not like I myself came through without a scratch..."

"Can't believe those punks were carrying knives..."

With his free hand, Shinji fingered the jagged rip slashed diagonally across his school shirt.

A voice, rather loud and distinctly female, came ringing down from the end of the corridor. "What's wrong with this damn machine! They just issued this card! Why won't it **take** it?"

"Hey," he waved in greeting as they approached. "It's you!"

"Hmm?" The redhead turned around. "What are **you** doing here?"

Then he noticed the plastic card in her hand: a NERV-issue ID. Shinji suddenly felt like slapping himself. _'Damn, I should have seen that coming... I'm so stupid-- those clips in her hair! They're the A-10 neural interface...'_

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** I shouldn't have to explain that the manga storyline deviates from the anime from Volume Four onwards, right? At least to whoever's reading this on EFO, I shouldn't think so. Comments and constructive is welcome as usual, in reviews or to "cala1019" at Gmail.

The following Omake is my rush-job of inserting Kanako's pet cat Kuro to the story. I realised I'd completely forgotten about him once I'd finished and uploaded Chapter Two. I could have just left him out, but I chose to put him in as a potential plot device.

* * *

**_- Omake: Kuro Strikes! -_**

Feeling refreshed and relaxed after her shower, Kanako stepped into her room, completely bare save for the towel wrapped around her body. Flicking on the light switch, she hummed contently to herself as she sat down on her bed, intent on drying her still-damp hair.

Something soft and furry squirmed underneath her.

"Aaack!" She jolted up as if she'd been electrocuted, and scrambled towards the door - but too hastily, ending up tripping over on her own feet instead. Turning on her back, Kanako lay paralyzed in fear as the black creature jumped lightly onto her stomach. Panic, embarrassment and ticklishness overriding her judgement, she clenched her eyes shut and screamed.

The door flew open. "Onee-chan! Is something--"

Shinji was suddenly unsure where to put his eyes. On the floor lay Kanako, her towel now flung wide, with a cabbit nestled between her breasts, purring happily. After having lived together for eleven years, he was no stranger to having seen the girl without clothing-- though the last time that had happened, they were both a **bit** younger and less... developed, he had to admit --but the way she was currently posed reminded him, for some reason, of that little 'incident' with Rei a few days back.

"--wrong...?"

Trying hard to stifle her shamefully increasing arousal, Kanako hissed out, "Get. It. **Off me!**"

Averting his gaze, the boy tilted forward and swiftly lifted the cabbit up.

"Hey, let me go!"

"Wha?" Shinji yelped in surprise and practically threw the animal. However, this sudden movement cost him the precarious balance in which he'd been leaning, causing him to fall over. His trained instinct managed to kick in, and he caught himself before his face hit ground level. But something about the way it felt in his hands was... different. Since when did the floor feel so much like--

A pleased moan escaped from Kanako's lips.

His eyes snapping open, he located where his hands were placed-- and flushed a deep crimson. His right hand held Kanako's left breast, while his left hand was planted on her inner thigh-- too close to a certain region for Shinji's current level of embarrassment to handle. When his brain finally registered all that, he stood up so fast his neck almost broke, and ran away to the safe isolation of his room.

Kanako also picked herself up with record speed and hurriedly pulled on a shirt and 3/4 pants.

"Alright you!" she yelled, pointing a finger at the hovering cabbit. "What are you and why are you here?"

"I'm Kuro," the cabbit greeted cheerfully. "I'm the Guardian Spirit your Grandmother sent you."


	7. Six: Seeing Double

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- MAGI platform level 2, NERV -_**

"Allow me to introduce Miss Asuka Soryu," Misato announced. "She's going to work with Unit-02-- starting today."

"How do you do?" Asuka said cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you," Rei replied.

"So Shin-chan," Misato cut in before Shinji could respond. "What happened to your shirt? And is that a cut on your arm?"

Shinji's hand went up to the torn fabric. "This? Oh, Soryu-san and I were..." He then noticed Asuka, who was repeatedly making throat-slitting motions and mouthing out, 'shut up you idiot'. The others noticed him notice Asuka, who immediately stopped and smiled sweetly instead.

Misato needed to hear or see no more. Her mind already whirling off on a tangent, she wore a sly grin that would rival that of the Cheshire Cat himself as she drew to a conclusion of her own. "Ooh, Asuka you wild thing... And Shinji, too-- I didn't know you were such a player..."

They both stared blankly back at her.

The woman studied the teens' expressions carefully. "You two weren't in an alley somewhere, necking so passionately that Asuka ripped your shirt and clawed your arm?"

"A-absolutely not!" shrieked the girl.

"Where on Earth did you get that idea?" exclaimed the boy, somewhat exasperated. "Soryu-san and I were in a fight, with some local punks that thought we looked like dirt. One of them attacked Soryu-san with a knife-- so I jumped in the way, and got my shirt sliced up in the process."

"You were in a fight," Ritsuko echoed.

"Did you win?" Misato asked, promptly receiving a smack in the head from her friend's clipboard.

"It was a self-defense situation, Ritsuko-san," Shinji argued.

A short note was taken. "Very well." With that, the doctor turned and walked off, Maya tailing her.

"So did you?"

* * *

**Chapter Six: Seeing Double**

* * *

**_- Commander's office, NERV -_**

In the darkness of the ever barely-lit room, the Tree of Sephiroth glows ominously overhead. The floor is also inset with an inscription of similar size, casting its pale light like a mist. On the furthest side of the room from the door is a desk, large but plain. Two men stand opposite each other at the desk, over a metal suitcase marked with biohazard warnings.

"I'm afraid it was an eventful voyage," one spoke. "I never thought we'd run into an Angel on our way here. So was it--" He broke the safety seal of the case. "--because of this? Quite an amazing little cargo...! In suspended animation for now, but... It's definitely alive."

Kaji looked up at the other man. "This is it, isn't it? The key to the Instrumentality Project..."

"That's right," Gendo replied. "You're holding the first human... Adam."

Inside the case lay a book-sized crystal-like block, encasing the curled up form of what looked very much like a foetus.

**_- Cafeteria, NERV -_**

"You kids haven't had lunch yet, right?" Misato asked.

The three-- four, having just been joined by Kanako --shook their heads and followed her to the self-serving counter, grabbing a plate each, loading them with food.

"Grab whatever you want," she said, snatching up a can of beer and trying hard to ignore the prickling of Shinji and Kanako's double disapproving gazes on the back of her head. "Oh come on!" she cried out in exasperation. "It's just the one!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," an extremely familiar voice called from one of the tables. "I see your mid-day drinking habits still haven't changed, Misato. I'm surprised you've managed to keep such a figure."

Dropping her jaw in shock, Misato gaped as the man stood up and gave a friendly wave. "Y-Y-Y-**You!**"

Asuka squealed delightedly-- "Kaji!" --and ran to him with a tackle-hug. "Where've you been?"

"What," Kaji began, feigning disappointment but unable to erase the small grin from his face, "you aren't even going to say a simple 'hello'? When we haven't seen each other in... forever? Aren't you glad to see me again?"

"Uh-bub-bub-buh..." Dumbstruck and frozen in place save for her goldfish-imitating mouth, Misato couldn't form coherent speech to respond. A shaky finger lifted itself up to point somewhat accusingly at Kaji. "Wh-wh-wh-what the **hell** are you doing here!" she finally blurted.

"Well, I was hoping you'd ask me that later, whilst we were... let's say... catching up on old times," he said with a little sigh. "But since you asked so nicely..." Kaji gave Asuka's head a pat, much to the girl's chagrin. "I accompanied Asuka on a business trip from Germany."

Misato finally joined Rei, Shinji, and Kanako at the table, cracking open her beer and taking a swig. "That's nice. So if you're done with business, why aren't you leaving?"

"Still so cold after all those years, eh? I thought you'd at least try to be hospitable, but I guess even that was too much to expect of you, Misato. Anyway, I hate to say that I have no plans to leave for the time being." Of course, the man didn't sound the least bit sorry, and probably deserved getting completely ignored. He turned his attention elsewhere. "So, you're Shinji Ikari, I take it?"

**_- Room 2-A, First City Junior High -_**

The class was unusually lively today, especially for History period. On a normal occasion, it wouldn't be rare at all to see over three-quarter of the students asleep from total boredom. And truth be told, the remaining quarter would hardly be attentive either. Yet the old sensei, too engrossed in retelling the same stories time and time again, never seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.

But today was different, right from the very moment **she** had stepped into the room.

An explosion of noise-- everything from catcalls to hushed murmurs to Kensuke and Toji's shrill screams of terror --greeted Asuka Langley Soryu to the class of 2-A. Fingers and gazes alike were all pointed in her direction, following her as she confidently strode down the aisles to sit down at a desk.

Shinji opened one eye lazily and glanced at the girl, who was right next to him. She was acting all quiet and shy, but he could tell she was greatly enjoying being the center of attention. _'Soaking it up like a sponge, that girl...'_

However, it wasn't the kind of attention that Shinji himself would've liked, if at all.

"I'm gonna try ask her out..."

"What? A dork like you? Not a chance!"

"I hear she's lived abroad... I wonder if she's, y'know, 'experienced.'"

He peeked over his shoulder at that last one... and barely restrained himself from whipping out a paper fan and whacking some sense into the idiots chuckling in the back corner. _'It doesn't matter that she's foreign, and admittedly rather pretty... She's still just a kid our age...'_

With a heavy sigh, he slumped forward on his desk-- his elbow accidentally nudging a pen off, which fell clattering to the floor by the leg of Asuka's chair. A slender hand reached down to pick it up, and placed it onto Shinji's outstretched fingers. The word 'thanks' died on the tip of his tongue as he froze and stared at the wad of gum that was now stuck to the pen.

_'This girl...'_ Twisting his scowl into the vaguest curve of a smile, he turned away slightly-- just enough for Asuka to still be able to see him viciously tear off the gum with his teeth and start grinding his jaws away on it. Watching the transition in her expression from triumphant smirk to disgusted horror was a fairly even trade for the flavour, or lack thereof, in the pre-chewed saliva-coated lump of rubber in his mouth.

_'Just might be more trouble than I thought...'_

**_- School rooftop, Tokyo-3 -_**

"So," Asuka began cattily, snatching the seventh and last ebi-tempura (fried shrimp) out of Shinji's bento with her fingers. "Do you always hang out with these morons?"

Said morons glared at her with increased intensity; she just continued ignoring them.

Making a tiny gesture to try and calm his friends down, Shinji looked down at his lunch to see all his shrimp were gone. His gaze rose to meet the girl's, who sat there sucking the oil off her fingertips with the most casual and nonchalant expression he had ever seen since the last time he'd accidentally walked in on Kanako bathing in the springs, which was still only a year or two back.

"Oops," was all the redhead said, faking an innocent smile.

Shinji had no idea how he should respond, or how he should treat this girl at all. As far as he could tell, she wasn't clinically insane, but nevertheless there was something about her that bordered on crazy. Or at least his own definition of the word. Anyway, her spontaneous ping-pong shifts in personality between volatile and amiable made him slightly uneasy to be around her.

Tentatively, he pushed the rest of the bento towards her, only to have it refused. "Oh no, I really shouldn't," she said. "I've already had so much, and besides, I'm on a diet."

_'..."Diet" she says...'_ Shinji had to mentally restrain himself from bursting his bubble. _'After she went and ate all but one of them...!'_ He had to spare his poor lunch another glance. All that remained of it was the half the rice, a few scraps of salad and a spoonful of natto (fermented bean). It took a bit of effort to not cry at the sight.

"Finish it off if you want," he said, flicking the box to Toji. "There's hardly anything left anyway."

That didn't stop the jock from wolfing it down like it was the last meal he would ever have. Even Shinji had to marvel at that voracity and seemingly endless stomach. But having been robbed of his precious shrimp, he now had a sudden craving for something sweet. _'I wonder if the cafeteria's got any chocolate ?lairs still left...'_

He didn't get to find out; the emergency alarms began to blare shrilly throughout the city, and the phone in his pocket mimicked the sirens' cry with its own desperate beeping, echoed by its twin in Asuka's pocket. Their eyes met; nodding once grimly, they were off, practically throwing themselves down the stairs.

**_- Off the Kii Peninsula, Tokyo-3 -_**

The Angel emerged from under the sea with a huge surge of water that shot skywards.

"Begin attack!"

Unit-02 sprung forward, a progressive spear held tightly in both hands as it ran at full speed. Unit-01 hung behind with the pallet rifle, keeping the Angel at bay with a stream of automatic fire.

As he watched the shots impacted uselessly with the Angel's AT Field, a bored Shinji wished for the thousandth time NERV made EVA-sized swords. _'Honestly, they'd be of much better use than **these...**'_ Then, through the dozens of explosions, he noticed something unusual. _'That Angel... has two cores...!'_

However this new discovery did little to stop Unit-02, already in mid-jump, bringing the blade of the spear down in a powerful strike that cleanly cleft the Angel in half, straight down the middle.

"Beautiful!" Misato cheered. "Good job, Asuka!"

"Oh... it was nothing," Asuka said with false modesty. Opening the video comm. screen to Shinji, she announced proudly, "Did you see that? That's how a real professional such as myself handles the task. A battle should be clean and elegant."

Shinji didn't dignify that with a response, though it wasn't his intention. He was too preoccupied staring at the split remains of the Angel. _'I swear they just twitched...'_ "Soryu, turn around! Behind you!"

Asuka looked back in horror.

The halves began to twist and bulge, healing along their divide and metamorphosing to become smaller but nearly identical bodies to their original form. A red orb sprouted in each of their 'chests', as well as a circular 'face' that had once been two parts of a yin-yang shape.

"What the **hell!**" she shrieked. "No way! No fair!"

Bracing himself, Shinji chose not to comment that it actually was fair now, as two-on-two.

Skimming the surface of the water, the half-Angels launched their attack in perfect synchronization.

**_- Officers' break area, NERV -_**

"Boy, did we screw that up badly," Shinji muttered, retrieving the two chocolate bars from the vending machine slot. Sitting down beside Kanako, he absently offered one to her while unwrapping the other with his teeth.

"Shin-chan..." she said quietly.

"Err... Sorry, I forgot you hate sweet things."

Waving off the apology wordlessly, she turned to look at him intently. Her expression was more serious than usual, and the glimmer of moisture gathering in her eyes indicated a few tears to come. Slowly, almost rigidly, she snaked her arms around him in an unusually awkward hug. "...I..." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I was so worried, Shin-chan... I thought-- I thought you were..."

"Shh," Reassurance came in the form of the boy's soothing murmurs and the warm, tight embrace that he drew her into. "It's okay, onee-chan. I'm alright, there's nothing to worry about..."

In a rare moment of 'weakness' that she only ever let Shinji see, Kanako pulled him into a tighter, fiercer hug. Her small frame shook with a few silent sobs, and cold tears began to soak the shoulder of his shirt. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, Shin-chan..."

'Hush'ing her again, he ran a hand up and down her back, stroking gently along her spine and sending a strangely pleasurable sensation throughout Kanako's body. The tension in her shoulders melted away as she relaxed under his ministrations. "There's nothing you need to apologize for, onee-chan."

As the gods of Fate would have it, Asuka happened to walk in on the scene, muttering profusely under her breath: "Do they have complete blockheads running this place? What kind of stupid cafeteria doesn't have cream soda?" Noticing Shinji a heartbeat later, she blinked in surprise. "So **this** is where the great Third Child dis--" Then, Kanako another beat after. "--appear to...?"

"Oh, Soryu." Shinji raised his free hand in greeting.

Asuka quirked an eyebrow dubiously at him. "What the hell are you doing? Looks like you're trying to take off her bra but can't find the clasp for it."

"Maybe because I don't wear one," Kanako supplied teasingly; not quite a lie, since she preferred the sports-type over the 'traditional'. She tilted her head as if to turn around, but instead she nuzzled Shinji's neck, adding little sucking noises for effect. Her amusement only grew when he unwittingly, she guessed, played into the act.

"Aww, c'mon. Stop that."

"Blech," the redhead sounded appropriately revolted. "I don't think I want that cream soda anymore."

Kanako glimpsed back just in time to see the girl whirl around and leave. _'Victory, to me...'_

**_- Misato's office, NERV -_**

Misato stared blankly at the dozens of foot-plus-high stacks of papers placed on top of her desk, mentally calculating the lost hours of sleep and the litres of coffee-- or beer --she'd need to make up for it. The eventual conclusion was simply, _'Not **nearly** enough...'_

Ritsuko, although she'd done far more work than that on numerous occasions, was still glad none of it was her responsibility this time. "That's it! Damage reports and protests from each pertaining ministry." She picked up one particular envelope and waved it around. "And here's the bill from the UN."

Plucking it from her hand, Misato glanced at it once, then tossed it over her shoulder. "So what's the situation?"

Pouring herself a cup of coffee, Ritsuko replied, "The EVAs are going to take about five days to be fully repaired again. And the Angels are currently regenerating. MAGI predicts a new attack five days from now."

"At least we're not completely screwed..."

"Still, Commander Ikari wasn't happy." The doctor took an appreciative sip of the dark brown liquid. "I hate to say it but you'll probably get fired the next time you fail."

"Thanks for the encouragement," Misato deadpanned. "It's really reassuring."

"Of course, a **really** bright idea might help keep your job..." Ignoring the obviously sarcastic comment, Ritsuko pulled a small disc out of her pocket. "Say... this one?"

It was snatched out her hand even before the words left her mouth. "An idea! For me! Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, you're amazing!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't come up with it."

She noticed slightly too late the label stuck to the disc: _To my honey_.

"Kaji," the other woman added needlessly, hiding her amused smile behind her mug.

**_- Pilots' quarters block A, NERV -_**

"Welcome to your new quarters!" announced Misato. "You'll be living here for the next five days."

Asuka promptly blew up. "**WHAAAAT!** You must be kidding! Live together for five days? We're of the opposite sex!"

Shinji merely shrugged and sat down on a bed. _'That's nothing I'm not already used to...'_

"Shinji! Don't sit there and just let this happen!"

"What are you so upset about? This is an operational necessity! You two must be in perfect harmony! Training all day together isn't enough! We need to synchronize your biological rhythms as well." Misato's explanation continued. "So you're going to sleep together, get up together, eat together, and train together-- that's all. What's the big deal?"

"B-but-- What if Ikari gets horny and attacks me in the middle of the night?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Shinji snapped dryly, testing the bounciness of the mattress. "You're pretty, but not 'oh-my-God-I-gotta-score-a-piece-of-her' pretty. Besides, I'm saving myself."

While Asuka shot him a mixed look of annoyance and indignation, Misato was walking out the door. "I'm sure you have everything here that you'll need, but if there's something I missed, call me over the intercom." She gave them a salute. "Wake-up call is at 6:30 AM. G'night!"

Clawing at her hair, Asuka moaned in despair. "This is just a big joke, right? Misato can't possibly be serious about this...!" She shut her eyes tight for a second then opened them again; nothing had changed, of course. "Argggh! Reality has become a nightmare! Beating the Angel can't be worth it..."

"Hey Soryu," Shinji called out from the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower, okay?"

"What! Haven't you ever heard of chivalry? Ladies first! I'm supposed to--" Throwing the door open, she stormed inside, only to discover the boy in the process of removing his shirt.

He stared at her and gave an exasperated sigh-- which might have been heard if Asuka's mouth was slower to scream than her eyes were to 'appreciate' the rather nice physique in front of her.

Minutes later, Shinji stood under a stream of hot water, wincing as he rubbed his back and shoulders where Asuka had repeatedly slapped him on accusations of being a hentai (pervert). _'Damn, she slaps hard... Why is it that the blame always falls on the male, no matter what happens? I wonder if Keitaro knows the answer...'_

* * *

_(Reformatted and heavily revised for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** This was one chapter I was never happy with, and I needed an opportunity/excuse to intensively overhaul it. Too much dialogue had made the original version excessively boring, and I'll shamefully admit that a lot of it was just copied material, more so than it is now. Well, that's less of an issue, and hopefully improves this chapter overall.

* * *

**_- Omake: The Adventures of Kuro and Pen-Pen! -_**

Kuro stared.

Pen-Pen stared back.

Misato glanced out from the kitchen. "It's been nearly fifteen minutes; are you two still going at it?"

The cat's eyes were beginning to water. In an effort to reduce the pain, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Wark! (I win!)"

The penguin snatched the last strip of beef jerky from the packet.

Kuro wiped his eyes, muttering, "I knew I shouldn't have had my eyes so wide open from the start..."

Pen-Pen had almost finished devouring the dried meat, but stopped. He impaled the last little bit of the jerky on a claw and waggled it in front of the cat's face.

"No," Kuro growled, glaring. "I will not sink to that--"

The penguin went to lift the morsel up to his beak.

"Okay, okay, okay! Let me have it, **please!**"

Retracting his claw, Pen-Pen let the piece drop and waddled off to his fridge in satisfaction.

Biting savagely into his scrap of jerky, Kuro seethed. _'I **will** out-stare you one day... Just you wait...'_


	8. Seven: Two to Tango

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- Pilot's quarters block A, NERV -_**

"About time! Took you long enough!" Asuka huffed, nearly running into the bathroom. She went to close the door, then glared back at Shinji, who sat on a bed drying his hair. "Let me remind you... No peeking."

"Don't give me any ideas," he replied lazily, picking up his school bag and pulling his SD player out. Wrapping the headphones around his ears, he threw himself back on the bed, trying to ignore the sounds of water he could hear through the music. _'"The most normal one of the bunch"? Yeah right, Misato. Well, I suppose Kensuke is right; all of us three EVA pilots do seem to be "weirdos", as he so put it...'_

He rolled onto his stomach, sliding his hands under the pillow. _'But I wonder why I have to be doing this with Soryu... If it were Rei, she wouldn't mind-- not that she ever minds anything --but I think it might be a bit easier for me... Though it'd be really quiet, maybe too much so...'_ A sudden weight pressing down on his lower back brought him out of his thoughts. Although he could already guess what it was, he nevertheless twisted his head around to look.

"Hey Shinji," Asuka cooed, winking.

"Soryu," Shinji began, already feeling the pain in his neck. "Can I ask why you're sitting on top of me? And maybe also why you're not dressed in nothing but a red-and-white striped towel?"

"No particular reason," she answered with a flippant shrug. "I just thought we could have a chat; get to know each other."

"You could at least let me turn the right way up."

"Okay."

The moment the boy had righted himself, Asuka pounced again, this time fully laying down on him. Her face was mere centimetres away from Shinji's; her breath was sweet and minty. The hint of a smile playing on her lips, she slowly took his headphones off him and murmured in a husky voice befitting of an actress: "Tell me the truth, Shinji... Do you really think I'm pretty?"

Shinji stared at her in disbelief. "Are you... okay? Misato didn't slip you any of her beer, did she?"

"I'm not drunk, silly. I just want you, Shinji Ikari. And I can give **all** of me in exchange..." Asuka slowly lowered the hand that held her towel together at the top, revealing a slight bit of cleavage. "So how about it? Shall I take it off?"

"Are you **sure** you're okay?"

The girl's demeanor abruptly changed. She stood up, and let the towel fall to the floor; Shinji wasn't at all surprised to see she'd been wearing a boob tube and shorts underneath. "For God's sake, I am **not** drunk! What is with you and your 20 Questions? Jeez, I've never had this much trouble just trying to get a guy to even blush!"

"Let's just say I'm... immune... to that sort of manipulation." Smirking, Shinji put his headphones back on. _'I never thought a day would come where I could actually thank Kitsune-san for all the drunken pranks she'd pulled on me in Hinata...'_

"Hmph!"

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Two to Tango**

* * *

**_- Block A surveillance room, NERV -_**

Though glad the situation in the pilots' room was diffused by Shinji's tolerance for sexual teasing, Kanako was still rather irked by the redheaded girls' attempt to do so. _'I can't believe I've been put in charge of **her** as well... Damn you, Gendo Ikari!'_

She looked down at the sound of something snapping-- the pencil she'd been rolling in her hand was in splinters. A quiet laugh came from the black cat riding on her shoulder. "Is that jealousy I sense, Mistress?"

"I wish you would stop prying into my thoughts Kuro," she sighed, knowing full well that he never would, for the sake of his own amusement. "But if you must hear it being said, and you always do, yes I'm jealous. Are you satisfied now?"

"Confess to your telepathic cat often?"

Kanako could only see a man's shadow standing in the doorway. "May I ask who you are?"

"Of course." The shadow performed a sweeping bow. "Ryouji Kaji, Special Agent for UN-NERV. A pleasure."

The girl returned the gesture. "Kanako Urashima of Section Two, under the same title."

Smiling, the man walked in and sat down in a chair next to her. "I didn't know NERV employed such young people in that department. You must be very talented."

"It's illegal to seduce minors, Kaji-san. Besides, you already have Misato-san to deal with," Kanako said with the ghost of a smirk. "All joking matter aside, I can assure you my age is no indication of my expertise... and dedication to this job."

Kaji watched the girl's impassive face. "I'm not the one to talk, but you should try not to blur the lines."

Her mask cracked slightly, and her reply was hesitant. "It... it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?" The man stood up to leave, pausing at the doorway once more. "I urge you to think carefully, Miss Urashima. Commander Ikari is a very dangerous man for you alone to deal with."

With a swish, the door shut behind him, darkening the barely-lit room again.

"Tch, tell me something I don't know..."

**_- Practice studio, NERV, day two of five -_**

"Listen up."

Both pilots held a sheaf of papers in their hands. Drawn on them were a sequence of stick figures as well as a musical composition to accompany it.

"What you're looking at is the choreography to the dance you're going to practice," Misato explained. "You're going to memorise this by heart."

Shinji tried to look comfortable in his one-piece suit. "I don't mind the dance part, but--"

"--do we have to wear these silly costumes?" Asuka finished, tugging at the tight fabric.

"Quit complaining," the woman snapped. "Appearance is vital in order to create the mood for this sort of thing! The enemy shares one mind with two bodies, so it's vital you two learn to move in unison. Memorizing an attack pattern based on music is the quickest way to master perfect harmony. We've only got four days, remember?"

Kaji popped in, much to Asuka's pleasure and Misato's chagrin. "I chose the music and did the choreography, by the way."

"I can do this myself," the latter huffed. She refocused her attention to the audio system next to her. "Let's practice the first part. Listen carefully..." The 'play' button was pressed. "...and begin!"

The teens moved together relatively easily, just as they had in the previous day's street fight. It wasn't completely perfect synchronization, but it was close enough to make Misato and Kaji gape in utter shock.

"Amazing..."

"It's going to work..."

Meanwhile, the music was finished, and so were Shinji and Asuka. They held their final stances as if they were the last note of the track, lingering in the air before fading away.

"You're pretty good, Soryu," Shinji praised.

"Of course I am!" Asuka declared proudly. Then, in a softer tone: "You're not too bad yourself, either..."

A faint smile crept onto the boy's face. _'So she **can** be nice when she wants...'_

**_- Pilot's quarters block A, NERV -_**

Toweling her hair dry with one hand and holding a can of tea in the other, Asuka pushed the door to the little fridge of their room shut with her hips. "I can't believe Misato insisted we listen to this music even at night. I'm **so** sick of it." She plopped down on the edge of Shinji's bed, where the boy lay listening to his SD player. "Aren't you, Shinji?"

Busy mouthing out the words to a song he liked, Shinji's only reply was a small shrug.

"Say, do you have..." She paused to take a sip from her can. "A father complex?"

Again, he simply shrugged, though his expression seemed minutely different-- as if she'd touched on a sensitive topic. Asuka decided to press on.

"C'mon, out with it Shinji. Either you hate his guts, or your favourite pastime is to have staring contests with your father in the middle of a corridor, or wherever you two happen to cross paths."

"I don't... hate him," Shinji said slowly. "Not anymore. Now... I just don't care."

"For not caring, I think you're too self-conscious around him."

Nodding in acceptance of this observation, Shinji was about to resume actively listening to his SD when a sudden question demanded asking. "Then what about your father? How well do you get along?"

The girl drained the rest of her drink and expertly lobbed the empty vessel into a bin. "If you're asking me for advice on how to be a good little kid for daddy, then I'm afraid it's of no use-- I've never had a father in the first place."

"Really?" Shinji sat up, looking somewhere between interested and surprised, even taking his headphones off and hung them around his neck, the music still faintly audible.

"Ever heard of a sperm bank?" Asuka saw him nod. "My father was one of the sperm my mother withdrew from the bank. I was conceived in a test tube."

"Have you... ever felt lonely? Not having a father, I mean..."

"Not really," she replied. "It doesn't matter that I have a father or not. If I was chosen from among many to become an EVA pilot... and if I fight and defeat the Angels... and everyone acknowledges those accomplishments... then I'd be happy."

At that moment, Shinji couldn't help but notice how similar Asuka was to Rei, and how much more fulfilling his life at Hinata seemed than what he knew of the two girls'.

**_- Practise studio, NERV, day four of five -_**

"Okay, stop!" Misato clapped her hands together once. "Asuka, that's the third time you've made that mistake!"

"Well, sor-**ry!**" the girl huffed. "It seems that I'm just not **good enough** to keep up with Super-Speed Shinji here! Or is it **my** fault that he's rushing ahead like he's being chased by evil clones of the Commander?"

Shinji found the analogy to be more amusing than insulting. Finally he could put faces to the countless imaginary _shinobi_ (assassins) he'd been 'killing' in his kenbu drills, and the resulting scenarios that played in his mind made him smirk darkly in satisfaction.

"She's right Shinji," Misato was saying. "You need to slow down your pace a bit for Asuka-- this routine has to be an absolutely perfect synchronization, remember?"

"Sorry..."

"Asides from that," Asuka pouted. "I don't like how the First-- **Ayanami...** has been watching us since yesterday --it's distracting! How am I supposed to concentrate?"

Misato turned to the blue-haired girl. "Rei, could you try for a sec instead of Asuka?"

"Yes."

Rei silently took Asuka's place beside Shinji, who glanced at her once then shrugged. The music began, and so did the two teens. Their movements were fluid and nearly effortless as they danced in perfect unison-- the key element that separated Asuka's first attempt from Rei's.

"If Unit-00 wasn't being repaired," Misato looked shiftily at Asuka. "We'd pair Rei with Shinji without a second thought."

Asuka bit her lip. "Fine. Why not just send her in my Unit-02?" Spinning on her feet, she ran out of the room shouting, "Excuse **me!**"

"Hey Soryu, wait!" Shinji went to follow her, but only after shooting Misato a dirty look. "Soryu!"

**_- Fountain gardens, Geofront -_**

Sitting under the shade of a gazebo, Asuka stared blankly over at the distant hills and the 'sky' beyond. _'Although we're actually deep underground, it really doesn't feel like it... The sunlight, the wind, the heat of eternal summer...'_

"There you are, Soryu," Shinji's voice called from behind her.

"What do you want? Why did you follow me?"

"Look," the boy sat down beside her. "What Misato said, I'm sure she didn't mean to say it the way she did. It's just that she's under a lot of pressure to get this done well. From what I gather, her job is on the line, but more importantly, so is the existence of humanity. You can't say she's not trying."

"But why am **I** the one to get yelled at? Why take it out on **me?**"

"Sorry about that; it really is my fault. I'm too used to having to move reflexively to avoid attacks, and it's harder than I thought to force my body to slow down. But also..." Shinji glanced over at the girl, who sat still without a change of emotion. "I think maybe if you relaxed a bit more... You're taking this too seriously, and though I don't mean you shouldn't be, you're overdoing it."

She whirled around, her expression angry. "Are you trying to give **me** advice!"

"'Advice'? I'd prefer the term 'observant comments', but as far as I'm concerned, you can think of it any way you please." Shinji paused, reluctant to say the next part. "Soryu... I feel as though you've got something in the way, something that's stopping you from opening up to others. Almost like there's a wall built around your heart..."

"...What would you know..." She trailed off into silence.

Shinji stood up to leave. "I'll be insi--"

"...Wait."

It seemed a bit odd to hear the normally assertive girl plead. He sat back down, and waited patiently for her to continue. Sneaking a few glances, he made out a thoughtful expression on her face, and half-expected some kind of sharp remark. But definitely not the punch she abruptly launched at his face, which he leaned back to avoid. Asuka, for a reason he couldn't fathom, looked extremely pleased with the result. "Say, Shinji. You don't, by any chance, have anything against fighting girls, do you?"

"No, but I'd prefer--"

Asuka stood up. "Excellent. Then I challenge you."

"Err, pardon?"

"By fighting a fast opponent like you, I can force myself to become faster as well, right?" She waited for a response, and received a hesitant nod in return. "So, if we can match our speeds, we'll be able to sync perfectly! We're going to show Misato and the First just what we're made of, you hear me!"

Suppressing a laugh, Shinji smiled instead. He didn't quite understand the girl's logic, but her drive... her motivation... it was admirable, if a little childish. _'Though,'_ he had to tell himself, _'it suits her personality perfectly.'_ "Alright then. Let's try this."

The girl smirked and took an offensive stance. "No holding back, Third Child."

Kaji peeked out from behind his marble pillar, and watched the children begin their sparring. However, he wasn't the only person spying on them: a certain girl and her flying cat also observed the scene, the former looking visibly agitated-- eyes narrowed and arms crossed over her chest. _'Why do you always have to be so nice to everyone, Shinji? Why can't you just be for one person only?'_

**_- Command centre, NERV, day five of five -_**

"Targets have passed the Goura absolute defense line!"

A cloud of birds burst into the sky as the two half-Angels casually strolled through the trees. At each heavy clawed footstep, concrete shattered and power poles shook. Ten VTOL crafts circled cautiously around the twin creatures, keeping their guns trained on them.

"Currently on a mountain course towards Tokyo-3!"

"Targets have entered Point Zero!"

"Damn! Three hours earlier than MAGI had expected..." Misato exclaimed. "What about the EVAs?"

"We're prepared for launch," Maya reported, "but the pilots are still--"

Suddenly over the speakers, the sound of the two teens in rather loud conversation broke in.

Shinji: "--went too rough on you last night--"

Asuka: "Damn right, you did! Thanks to you, I'm sore all over the place!"

Were they not currently in the serious situation of preparing for a battle, the implications of that brief exchange would have sent a vast majority of the command crew hurtling to the same wrong conclusion. Luckily, this time it went mostly unnoticed. Only Maya seemed a little flustered, and Gendo quirked an eyebrow, though that could have meant anything. Kaji just stood at the back, smiling knowingly.

"Arggh!" Misato clutched her head in frustration, all and any innuendo having blown right over her in her moment of stress. "This is doomed. There wasn't time for **any** last-minute practice!"

The children replied simultaneously, "Don't worry, Misato./It's okay, Misato."

"Huh?"

"Our synchronization is perfect./Our unison is already perfect."

Misato's expression was still vaguely doubtful as she gave the command.

**_- City surface, Tokyo-3 -_**

The final locks on the arm and shoulder fins of the EVAs were released, split-seconds before the launch platforms slammed up and flung the two biomechs clear into the air, beyond the height of most buildings.

"Start the music!"

Upwards momentum now failing, the EVAs began their rapid descent back down to ground. They impacted feet-first directly onto the two half-Angels and kicked off forcefully, pushing them away as they landed on concrete, distanced by several hundred meters.

From armament buildings on both sides of the pair, Unit-01 and Unit-02 grabbed a pallet rifle each and fired off a volley of shots, many of which hit the twin Angels. They responded with ranged attacks of their own, shooting double beams from the holes in their 'faces'.

Dropping the weapons, the Evangelions switched to evasive, performing consecutive backflips to dodge the explosive rays. The last flip brought their feet down on a pressure pad, which brought up a plate of armour in front of them. A shot from the Angels left a massive dent in the middle of the plating, but it held.

Hooked to the back of the shield were another pair of rifles. Snatching those up, the EVAs popped out to either side and unleashed another salvo, which this time were avoided. The half-Angels simply leapt over the projectiles and came crashing down onto the the thick armour plate, quickly reducing it to shreds with their extremely sharp claws.

Asuka and Shinji jumped back in surprise, while Misato ordered cover fire for them, letting loose dozens of missiles from multiple battery buildings. They couldn't do much damage to their targets, but it provided a nice distraction for the pilots, as well as shrouding the enemy in a cloud of smoke.

"Soryu!"

"Right!"

Tossing the guns aside once again, the EVAs charged ahead full speed. Once the smoke cleared away slightly, revealing the forms of the twins inside, they jumped. Tucking and rolling in mid-air, they spun several times before twisting around and righting themselves for the final attack.

Two bus-sized, metal-reinforced heels came smashing down onto two Angel cores in perfect timing, the power behind the kick immense due to the weight and gained momentum of the EVAs. The red orbs were crushed like glass, and the now-dead corpses of the half-Angels promptly blew up, releasing a huge sphere of fire at least several miles in diameter.

When at last the fires subsided, nothing remained of the Angels: just a giant crater and the two EVAs that defeated them lying in a pile, sprawled one on top of another.

"You screwed up the landing, Shinji."

**"I** screwed up the landing? Let's not forget who fell aslee--"

"Alright, alright, shut up. We won, end of story." Then, for the first time since her arrival, Asuka broke out into a full smile. "You were pretty good out there, Shinji."

Shinji smiled too. "Thanks; so were you... Asuka."

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely-retouched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** To those of you out there still reading this series, thank you very much. Feedback is always welcome, in reviews or to "cala1019" at Gmail.

Liked/hated last chapter's Omake? More spontaneity, in response to a FFN reader's review.


	9. Eight: Human Imperfections

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- location unknown -_**

In the middle of what looked like nowhere, an abandoned building of forgotten purposes stood surrounded by a wire fence and a whole lot of dust and rocks. The sign attached to the fence was long since faded away from the decade and half of relentless summer sun.

A footstep broke the arid silence of the small facility. Its owner, a certain Ryouji Kaji, peeked out warily from a corner, beads of sweat dotting his face. His back against the wall of the building, he quickly but cautiously crept towards a door. With one hand inside his jacket feeling the weight of his gun, Kaji pushed the door open slowly and stepped inside.

It was dark, and empty save for the few desks, chairs and a telephone. Needless to say, they too were as run-down as the building that sheltered them. Kaji let out a breath he never realised he'd been holding.

_'It's the same as all the others...'_ he told himself, his inner voice tinged with disappointment. _'108 firms linked to the Marduk Group. The first 106 of which turned out to be dummy corporations. And there were no surprises here for the 107th.'_

Kaji sat down on a chair, pulling out a cigarette from a pack in his pocket. _'The Marduk Group...'_ He lit it and inhaled. _'An "advisory body" under the direct authority of the United Nations Human Instrumentality Committee. Marduk's charter says that their purpose is to select the Evangelion pilots. I haven't figured out yet just what those 108 strings are really trying to pull.'_

He blew out a stream of smoke. _'But... I think I know the man... who's pulling them.'_

On a plateau overlooking the installation, Gendo Ikari stood watching. Just watching... and waiting.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Human Imperfections**

* * *

**_- Streets of Tokyo-3 -_**

The three boys Shinji, Toji and Kensuke were walking home after school. And for once, on Shinji's request, Kanako was out of the shadows and following them from a few meters back. Dressed in somewhat formal attire-- consisting partially of Section Two uniform --she kept glaring at people who dared gaze in her general direction: most of them male, and all of them older than her.

"Two more days..." Kensuke lamented. "Then we hit mid-terms."

Toji was equally as enthusiastic. "Don't remind me, yo. May as well check into da cemetery."

"C'mon guys, I'm sure you'll both do fine!" Shinji was the only optimistic one, glad he'd learnt the all-important lesson of time management from a certain Todai aspirant. _ 'Of course, my schedule only got tighter, being the pilot of an Evangelion and all...'_

"Says the A+ suck-up," Toji muttered.

"I resent that comment," the 'suck-up' retorted. "Do you know how much hard work it is for me to keep up?"

The jock immediately apologised. "Sorry... But as for da rest of us..." He livened up once more, pumping a fist in the air. "We discuss battle plans at Ikari's crib!"

"I second the motion!" Kensuke cheered with excess enthusiasm.

"Why my place?"

"Because we can see Misato!" the two answered with excess zeal.

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Now there's a surprise."

"Tch, **boys...**" Kanako added under her breath.

**_- Katsuragi residence, Tokyo-3 -_**

"Hello! Excuse us!"

Opened the door to his room, Shinji froze in place. Toji and Kensuke were on either side of him, also in awe of the dozens of DHL delivery boxes stacked three-high and covering almost the whole floor.

"What happened ta yer room, Ikari?"

"It's like the final scene in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'!"

"Oh great..." Shinji finally groaned. _'No offence to Pen-Pen, but it doesn't take the intelligence of a penguin to figure out what the 'S. Asuka L' written on **each and every box** means...'_

And sure enough, she appeared: "Ta-daa! Starting today, that room is mine!"

The three boys turned around and stared-- but only for a few seconds before Toji recoiled, hollering, "**AAAAAHHH!** She's returned! No! Stay back!"

"Cut it out, you moron!" Asuka yelled in return.

"Hey Soryu... Would you care to explain all this?" Shinji waved a hand to the room that was now supposedly not his.

"Well, Misato invited me. I'd really prefer to live by myself..." She pressed a finger on her cheek and batted her eyelashes, trying to look sweet and demure-- and succeeding, though the effect was lost on the three boys who knew her far too well already. "But you know her-- she insisted."

"Admittedly, it was a nice thing for her to do, but without asking me and onee-chan...?"

"Don't sound so disappointed, Shinji..." Asuka said, leaning closer to him. "I'll take good care of you."

Kanako suddenly stood between the two, having finished changing into casual clothes. She refrained from outright glaring, but her eyes were still dangerously narrowed. "I don't think that will be necessary, thank you very much." She told Shinji, "Get your stuff and bring it to my room. You can stay there from now on."

"Hi, kids!" Misato greeted, stepping into the apartment. "How are you getting along?"

"Misato/Misato-san!" Shinji/Kanako burst out. They paused to look at each other, and the girl nodded at the boy, who continued: "How could you do this without talking to us?"

"I'm sorry-- it was all rather sudden..." The woman pointed a thumb at the redhead, busily prancing about with boxes and clothes. "When Asuka told me she wanted to live here--"

Shinji was confused. "Say what?"

"--I couldn't refuse, not after I took you and Kanako in. And since she did ask to move in... it means she must have had a lot of fun in those five days you two spent together!"

"...'Fun'...?"

Toji grabbed the boy's shoulders and shook him violently. "You spent **five** days wit' her?"

"Kami-sama help me..."

**_- Kanako and Shinji's room, Katsuragi residence, that evening -_**

"Huh, she's not home," Shinji put the phone away, back in his box of belongings. _'I suppose a party would be a bit overwhelming for her,'_ the boy reasoned. _'But she's never going to develop any social skills if she keeps avoiding human contact...'_

The doorbell rang.

"Could you get that, Shinji?"

Promptly complying, he opened the door and found Hikari standing there. "Oh, Ikari-kun... Good evening."

"Good evening." Shinji quickly stepped aside and gestured inside. "I didn't know you were coming, _inchou._"

Hikari smiled shyly as she removed her shoes and placed them on a shelf. "If you don't mind, I'd prefer not to be called that out of school; it's too formal. 'Hikari' will do just fine."

"Hey, Ikari! Hurry up! Da food's--" Toji halted mid-speech. "What's _inchou_ doin' here?"

"I gave her a call," Asuka answered, waving for her to sit down. "Not much of a party here with you lamers. That's right; I'm talking to you." She glared pointedly back at Toji.

Sitting down beside Kanako, Shinji loaded up a plate with food and began eating. It was all very good, but he still thought Kensuke went a little overboard with this 'promotion celebration party'. _ 'Must be the portable grill,'_ he figured, staring at the large appliance in the middle of the table. _'You're a nutcase, Kensuke...'_

"Hey everybody," Kaji greeted, having walked in completely unannounced. "Is it someone's birthday?"

Misato choked and spurted beer from her nose, much to Kanako's barely-contained disgust.

"I thought you were old enough to hold your alcohol, Misato-san."

**_- location indefinable -_**

_'This is me.'_

Rei felt as she were floating. Or more correctly, drifting, in a sea of nothingness.

_'I am this object... the shape that forms me.'_

'Sea' was an interesting description for her surroundings; indeed, it all felt and looked very much liquid.

_'But it feels like I'm not me. It's so strange.'_

Bubbles began to rise up from what seemed to be the bottom of this 'sea'.

_'It feels like I am dissolving. My shape is disappearing. I can't tell what I am anymore.'_

She was vaguely aware of her limbs moving, as she swam down towards the dark deep.

_'I feel someone else. Is someone there, beyond this place?'_

A piercing light shone from below, and as she got closer, a shadowy giant appeared in her view.

_'Who are you?'_

Various tubes seemed to be connected to the form, and the light-- its eyes --glowed menacingly.

_'Who **are** you?'_

**_- Katsuragi residence, Tokyo-3, several hours later -_**

Kanako sat on the couch, cradling a sleeping Shinji's head in her lap with a small smile of contentment. It disappeared quickly when the sound of one's stomach being forcefully emptied into a toilet bowl was heard, followed by muffled exchange of words between the two adults.

"You should get some fresh air," she heard Kaji tell a moaning Misato. "Here, I'll lend you a shoulder."

The door closed behind them with a gentle 'swish'.

No longer pretending to be asleep, Kanako gazed about the apartment. Simply put, it was a mess. Of course, nothing else could've been expected, not with five-- well, six counting herself --teenagers running rampant about the place with all sorts of antics. The remaining four teens lay in a tangled heap, from which she had extracted Shinji, on the colourful playing mat of a pre-Impact game called 'Twister'.

Scattered around both the table and floor of the living room were cushions, cans, bottles, cards of many varieties, and even-- _'Kitchen knives?'_ She shook her head. _'I don't want to know...'_

Her attention finally returned to the boy, undisturbed from his peaceful slumber. The smile gracing her lips again, she simply sat there stroking his hair lovingly, reluctantly allowing herself to dream of a future where she might be sitting like this with a child or two in her arms. Her face flushed noticeably as a grown-up Shinji sat down beside her and drew her into a passionate kiss.

"Ahem!" A fake cough snapped her back to reality, and Kanako saw that the redhead girl was now awake and standing in front of her, sneering. "I'm sorry; did I interrupt your little fantasy?"

It wasn't at all necessary for her to say anything in reply; her glare was answer enough.

"I think it's **awfully** nice of you to cuddle your boyfriend to sleep," Asuka continued sarcastically. She leant forward and whispered conspiratorially, "I just hope things don't get... loud enough... to wake me up in the middle of the night. I need my beauty sleep, after all."

"Shinji is not my boyfriend," Kanako replied with forced calm. "He's my brother."

Asuka seemed hardly convinced, though it could've been that she just didn't care. She gave a long, scrutinizing look at both her and Shinji's faces. "So you're into the whole incest thing? That's **sick.** Not to mention illegal in most countries in the civilized world."

"We're not biological siblings."

"Wow," the redhead mocked excitement, throwing her hands up in a show of exaggerated cheer. "That just makes me feel a lot better! Now I can rest easy at night, knowing you two can screw each other's brains out without any societal immorality!"

Still sitting in the couch, Kanako watched the German girl leave the apartment, quelling the very tempting and insidious urges to chase after her and beat her into submission. _'If she wasn't an EVA pilot, I'd teach that little redheaded cockroach a thing or two...'_

**_- Apartment 402, Tokyo-3 -_**

Sitting on a lone chair, Shinji's gaze circled around the small apartment. _'Just being in here makes me feel depressed... I don't know how Rei stands living in this kind of place...'_

A kettle boiled over an electric hotplate in the miniscule kitchen.

_'Seeing Rei in a kitchen,'_ the boy mused. _'Is a really unusual sight. She just... doesn't seem the type.'_

"How many tea leaves do you use to make tea?" Rei asked, poring over the small tin. "I have tea here, but I've never made tea."

"It's okay Rei, you needn't--"

"This much?" The girl held up a heaped tablespoon of leaves, and Shinji sweat-dropped.

"Not that much, no."

As she went to return the excess to the tin, her hand brushed the hot kettle. The spoon and its contents clattered loudly to the dirty floor as she recoiled in silent pain.

"Are you alright?"

"It's just... a little burn."

Turning the tap on, Shinji grabbed her wrist and put her hand under the stream of cold water. "No such thing as 'just' a burn, Rei," he said with an open smile. "Serious or not, immediate treatment is always best."

The subtle colouring of Rei's cheeks suddenly told Shinji that he'd been holding her hand a tad too long. "Oh..." He let go and backed away a step. "Sorry. Just stay there, I'll make the tea."

Her blush didn't quite fade. "Thank you..."

"I wish you'd been at the party we had last night," the boy started, breaking the brief silence that had fallen between them. He dropped a few pinches of leaves into a jug along with hot water. "I know you don't like that sort of thing much, but still... I wish you'd been there."

"Why?"

Shinji shrugged. "I don't know. I just think we could have done things together: play games, pillow fight, laugh at Toji and Asuka arguing, listen to what Kensuke calls singing, or just... talk."

Rei stared at the glass teapot. "What a pretty colour... You're good at making tea."

"It's nothing, really..."

"Can I drink it?"

"Sure." He quickly poured her some into a paper cup and watched her take a sip. "It'll be a little bitter."

"Yes..." Rei wrapped her hands around the cup. "But it's warm."

**_- Kanako and Shinji's room, Katsuragi residence -_**

The single bed that had been in the room was now gone. Instead there were now two futons for the room's occupants to sleep in. And currently, those two occupants lay side-by-side in the dark, staring up at what they could of the ceiling.

"It's been years since we last slept together," Kanako murmured wistfully, shifting herself closer to Shinji's side. "I remember a time long ago when you used to refuse to go to sleep without me. To be honest, I've always missed those times."

"Yeah..." Shinji smiled at the memory. "We were so innocent then. Or at least... **I** was."

Kanako shoved him, hard but playfully. "Liar."

"Am not." He shoved back, an unseen grin creeping across his face.

"Are so." She pounced on the boy, and began to tickle him.

And thus began a ten-minute bout of wrestling, rolling, laughing and giggling as two teenagers relived a moment of their childhood memories. Their skills, once unfairly balanced towards the girl, were now of an equal match and a casual observer wouldn't have been able to predetermine a winner.

But at the end of the struggle, Kanako came out on top-- both literally and figuratively. She was straddled over Shinji's waist, and has his arms pinned down to the messed-up futons. She leant over, close to his face and stuck her tongue out at him. "Looks like I win, just like old times."

Shinji didn't make any lame excuses, or even make a sound in reply. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts, whatever they were, staring blankly forward with saddened eyes.

"Shin-chan? Are you okay?"

Snapping out of his trance, he met her gaze. His eyes seemed to glisten with moisture, and he blinked hard several times before replying, "I'm alright. Just... something in my eye."

"You're a terrible liar, Shin-chan." Letting go of his wrists, Kanako hugged him, using his chest as a pillow. The warmth of his body against hers was comforting, and she could hear his heart beating, coincidentally in time with her own. "It's tomorrow, isn't it? The anniversary of your mother's death."

"Yes. It is."

**_- Tokyo-3 cemetery -_**

Not even the sound of two pairs of footsteps could drive out the deathly silence and loneliness of the barren yard. While navigating through the confusing myriad of black obelisks, Shinji turned around once, just once to see that Kanako had replaced Asuka walking behind him. Although he knew exactly where his mother's grave was, he needn't have bothered.

A man knelt down and placed a simple bouquet of flowers at the base of one particular headstone.

"Come here often?" Shinji asked, unable to suppress the contempt in his voice.

"Twice every year," Gendo answered. "Once on this day, and--"

"Once on her birthday."

The elder Ikari finally turned to face his son. Though his eyes were hidden behind his glasses, his sad smile made the boy feel slightly sorry for him. "She would never forgive me..."

"What?"

"Don't look for me anymore, Shinji. You need to live and grow on your own strength."

Shinji laughed mirthlessly. "And you think I haven't already been doing that for the last **eleven** years! You abandoned me! Losing Mom had been enough, but did it ever occur to you that being a father meant you had to take responsibility for the child born from your own flesh and blood!"

Gendo made no reply.

"You say I need to find my own strength, but you're nothing more than a hypocrite. You couldn't even be there for **me** when I needed you the most-- I was three years old, dammit!" He paused to wipe away a tear. "So how can you live on... when your strength is gone and you're nothing but a shell? I just don't understand why..."

"You can't. For some reason, people think they can understand each other. But it's impossible. It's never complete. It's never enough." The man smiled sadly once more. "People... are such sad creatures."

"And you are the saddest of them all... Father."

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** Apparently Gendo seemed a bit too talkative in that last scene, according to an FFN reader. Personally, I felt the difference was minimal, and think he could open up at least once to Shinji. And what better place to do it in front of the one thing that had kept them together as a family?

Drop me a comment please, in review or to "cala1019" at Gmail.


	10. Nine: Hot Springs Hijinks, Part 1

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- Katsuragi residence, Tokyo-3 -_**

"What do you mean 'we can't go on the trip'!" Asuka demanded, slamming her hands on the table.

Misato took a sip of her beer. "It's exactly what I mean: you can't go on the trip."

"But **why?**"

"Orders from NERV. You two have to remain here in case an Angel attacks." The woman pulled out an SD from her jacket pocket. "And don't think I haven't been keeping up with your school progress, because I have. It's very disappointing, Asuka."

"It's not my fault I can't read the stupid questions. Why do they have to use so many kanji?" Asuka huffed, sitting back down. She glanced to her left, where Shinji and Kanako sat quietly drinking their tea. Even Kuro had a shot-glassful to himself, and was lapping happily away. "You aren't just going to sit there and let this happen, are you Shinji?"

The boy put down his cup, shrugging. "What other choice is there? As EVA pilots, this is a responsibility we have. Sure, I'd like to go to Okinawa just as much as you do. But... things just can't be helped for us."

"Great," she sighed. "So you'd never actually placed your hopes on it in the first place."

"Nope. Not at all."

Rolling her eyes, Asuka slumped in defeat. "I wonder what Hikari's up to," she muttered. "I bet she's having the time of her life, diving in the ocean in the day, and then coming back to take a relaxing soak in the onsen (hot springs) in the evening. Okinawa's supposed to be famous for those..."

An idea sprung to Shinji's mind. "You want to go to an onsen, you say?"

"Yeah, even that'd do. Though I don't know what I'd do with my new bikini now..."

"Hey Misato?" Shinji asked. "Do you think we could get permission to--?"

* * *

**Intermission (Chapter Nine): Hot Springs Hijinks, Part One**

* * *

**_- Outside Hinata House, Hinata City -_**

"_Verdammt!_" Asuka grunted. "Why the hell are there so many stairs?"

"I told you to pack lightly, Asuka," Shinji called down from the top of the stairs. "A suitcase doesn't fall under that particular category, or at least not according to common sense."

She glared up at him. "Ha, **ha.** Very funny, Third Child. Now if you'd stop making fun of me and carry this up like a gentleman, it would be greatly appreciated."

Handing his backpack and sword-- the Yuuki (valour) blade given to him by Motoko --to Kanako he came jogging down, picking up the suitcase with some difficulty. "What exactly did you pack in here? A couple dozen bricks?"

"No, you baka," she scoffed. "Clothes; what else?"

Shinji sweatdropped. _'"What else?" She says it as if it's the most obvious thing in the world... But is it really necessary to bring this much? Well, if I could understand **that,** I'd probably have at least half the female psyche figured out...'_

He was suddenly aware of a screaming, possibly human projectile arcing its way towards him. He deftly sidestepped, and looked back to find it narrowly miss Misato and Rei. But it, or more correctly Keitaro, collided with a most unfortunate young German, and sent them both rolling painfully down to the bottom of the very long flight of steps.

Keitaro was quick to regain consciousness, but his brain was still slow to actually realise that he'd come to a landing on something much softer and warmer than the ground, and wondered what it could be. Then he suddenly snapped to the conclusion that his face was nestled somewhere in a rather familiar position... Though by then Asuka had also woken up and worked out the same thing, except much faster.

Hearing the dual shrieks, Shinji couldn't help but snicker, though he winced when he saw Asuka kick the poor ronin in the groin. Keitaro's cry of pain seemed just that little higher pitched than before. _'Ouch,'_ he thought. _'I bet he's actually 'appreciating' rocket-punches and boulder cutting strikes now...'_

While Asuka huffed past, snatching the suitcase out of his hands and following everyone else to the inn entrance, Shinji waited for the 'crippled' young man to come hobbling up the steps. "You didn't make it to the city centre today, Keitaro," he remarked in half-jest, and peered back at Hinata. "She went easy on you."

"Heh," Keitaro scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You know I was just joking, right?"

**_- Annex rooftop, Hinata House -_**

Having finished her afternoon kata, Motoko sat with her eyes closed, meditating. On top of her shoulders was a precariously balanced Su, attending with fervor to the blipping noises emitted from her portable gaming system. _'How long has it been now,'_ the samurai girl wondered. _'since Shinji left... Three months? No, it's only been two yet-- but even that seems like so long ago...'_

She blinked her eyes open once, when Su yelled out in gleeful victory of one sort or another. _'Sadly enough, I've gotten used to training alone again. I'd forgotten how lonely it was to practise by myself; Shinji had been my sparring partner ever since I came to Hinata House...'_

_-flashback-_

_The kogatana (mini tanto) streaked through the air towards a seemingly helpless ten-year old Shinji._

_Reflexes kicking in faster than he could actually think, he brought up the board ledger in his hands to block the missile. It stuck into the book audibly, and vibrated for a few short seconds before the boy pulled it out shakily. "A-aoyama-san?"_

_"What is it?" an eleven-year old Motoko snapped, annoyed at being interrupted._

_"You're the new tenant in Room 302, right?"_

_"Yes," was her exasperated reply. "Now if you don't have any other questions..."_

_The girl returned to her kata fully assuming he would leave now, but when the feeling of being watched didn't go away, she turned back to find he was still standing there in the same spot._

_"What!"_

_He offered her the kogatana. "Hina-obaasan told me you were the heiress to the Shinmeiryuu clan," he said in an awed tone. "That must mean you're really good."_

_Blushing faintly despite herself, Motoko took the weapon from him, noticing that he'd held it properly-- with the blade towards himself, and edge-down so he wouldn't cut his hand. "Th-thanks..."_

_"It was yours anyway. I'm sorry to have disturbed you." He bowed and turned to walk down the stairs._

_"Hey, wait!"_

_"Yes?"_

_"You... you can stay and watch, if you want..."_

_Shinji smiled shyly at her. "That would be nice, thank you."_

_-end flashback-_

_'It was only a day or two after that he asked me to teach him kendo...'_ Motoko smiled at the memory.

Lifting her visor, Su sniffed the air. "I smell... Shinji!" She leapt off the other girl's shoulders and ran down the stairs.

"What...? Su!" Motoko got up quickly, and clumsily followed the foreign girl. _'Ack! Pins-and-needles!'_

**_- First floor lobby, Hinata House -_**

"So," Kitsune wore a grin that Shinji just knew meant trouble. Or teasing. Or both. "It seems our boy Shinji here has made a man of himself in Tokyo-3... Look at the hot chicks you've brought back; a blue-haired albino, a foreign redhead beauty, and even an older--"

She was cut off from any further comment by a righteous 'thwack' to the back of the head with a paper fan, courtesy of Naru, who caught the now-unconscious woman and laid her down on the couch. "Uh, sorry about that," she laughed nervously. "My friend tends to go a bit overboard with her drink..."

"Heyas/Shinji-kun!"

_'What the...?'_ Asuka was surprised to see two more girls come down, greeting Shinji excitedly. _'He's really popular, isn't he? I never would've guessed; a plain-as-bread guy like him...'_

_'Hm, my jealousy senses are tingling...'_ Misato peered around, eyes narrowed, trying to pinpoint the location of the sensation. _'Damn, too many girls to get an accurate reading...'_

"Su! Motoko-san!" Shinji returned the formal bow the older girl gave him, simultaneously avoiding the younger girl's flying-kick-to-the-head welcome. "Please, sit down. I'm sure we have lots to catch up on."

The blonde gaijin opted to perch on the boy's shoulders instead. "Nyahaha!"

"Well now that everyone's here--" He clapped his hands together. "--let me introduce you all to each other. To my left are the personnel from NERV, and my... work... colleagues: Misato Katsuragi, Director of Operations and my commanding offi--" Shinji coughed and corrected himself. "I mean, my supervisor. With her are Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami, both of them also my classmates at school."

"Pleasure meeting you all./Yeah, hi./..."

"And to my right are the tenants of Hinata: Mitsune Konno, the one passed out on the couch; Naru Narusegawa, her closest friend; Kaolla Su, who thinks people are good to climb on; Motoko Aoyama, heiress of the Shinmeiryuu clan and my kendo sensei; and finally Shinobu Maehara, the most talented cook I'm fortunate enough to know." Then he added, "Oh, and Keitaro Urashima, landlord of this dorm."

"Nice to meet you," they chorused, in the enthusiastic way only possible by a bunch of young girls-- and one misunderstood and slightly older guy --living under the same roof.

Shinji grinned. "So did anybody miss me?"

**_- Outdoor bath, Hinata House -_**

Wielding his trusty sword and shield, the valiant knight strode forward into the deep forbidden abyss.

_'Yeah right,'_ Keitaro thought despondently. _'If only. I really need to stop reading those damned fantasy manga. Just look at me; some knight I am. Worn shirt and faded shorts for armour, bucket and broom to fend off "deadly" rock moss, and the only "deep forbidden abyss" I actually know of is the kind that makes me nosebleed half to death...'_

"Well, I better get started," he muttered, wiping away a trickle of blood and putting his bucket down by the door. "The onsen's not going to clean itself, unfortunately enough..."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mist-shrouded waters...

"Mmm, this is simply delightful," Misato sighed contently. "I can't think of a better way to be spending my hard-earned vacation than soaking in a genuine hot spring, don't you girls agree? Of course, a cool beer afterwards wouldn't go down with a complaint."

"Yeah yeah, I get your point," Asuka replied lazily. "I'll thank Shinji later."

Not saying anything, Rei just sat watching a happy warm-water penguin enjoy itself.

"Hm? But that's not what I meant at all..." A devious look crossed the woman's features. "Ooh, Asuka..."

"Shut up, Misato!" a flustered redhead yelled. Her cheeks, already rosy from the heat, deepened in colour. "It's nothing like that! Stop jumping to conclusions!" Standing up, she grabbed a towel and hastily draped it over herself as she walked briskly off.

Mr. Oblivious continued to scrub and sweep busily. But that wasn't to last for much longer, as a furious-looking German girl came at a near sprint through the clouds of steam and tripped over his bucket with a rather loud yelp he was sure would've attracted the attention of a few pervert-haters.

Instead, two more people-- and a penguin --emerged from the vapour. Both were similarly as undressed as the other, except that the purple-haired woman hugged the penguin to her ample chest, barely managing to cover the important bits. Keitaro's eyes bugged out, and he froze in place staring.

"What the **hell** do you think you're looking at?" A further irritated Asuka dealt the blow of feminine vengeance, bringing the ronin down with a second kick in the nuts for the day. Only as the poor man dropped to his knees mouthing out a cry of pain, did the Hinata girls-- minus Motoko --charge in, Naru at the fore with her fist at the ready.

"Okay Keitaro! What have you done--" She saw his foetal form on the ground beside a fallen towel. "--this time...?"

A miserable whimpering was the only reply she got.

**_- Room 302 (Motoko's), Hinata House -_**

"Ahahahaha!"

"Would you please stop laughing," Motoko pleaded, hands covering her burning cheeks. "It's embarrassing enough just thinking about it..."

Shinji was finding it difficult not to crack up at the mental imagery. "But why? I think you'd look great in a mini-skirt!" Grinning, he added playfully, "It's a shame I wasn't here to see it happen. Would you be so gracious as to have an encore presentation?"

"And suffer the same humiliation again?"

"No, Motoko-san, I'll tell you what's more humiliating; the fact that **I'd** look better in a mini-skirt than you." He could tell she was trying to imagine it by her facial expression. "You know I'm just as good at impersonations as onee-chan is, and just because I've never cross-dressed before doesn't mean I can't and won't do it."

The picture in her mind still wasn't coming together, and Motoko's curiosity was getting her better of her, as was her taunted pride. "Then why don't you?"

"Huh?"

A smile not unlike what Kitsune so often used graced her face. "I said, 'why don't you?' If you're so confident about it, then you won't mind being a girl for the rest of your little vacation, will you?"

"S-sure..." Shinji was taken aback. It had been quite a while-- years, in fact --since someone had bested him in verbal sparring, and the result of his loss was going to be... interesting, to say the least. "Of course not..."

"Just to make things entertaining, we can make this a... contest... between you and I."

He looked at her skeptically. "A contest. Of femininity. Are you serious?"

"You don't sound too confident now; what's wrong?" It was rare to see Motoko with such a crafty expression, almost to the point of being scary. "Don't you want to do it anymore?"

"No," Shinji resolved, thrusting forward a hand. "You're on."

_'Kami,'_ they both cringed internally, shaking hands to seal the deal. _'What in the world am I getting myself into?'_

**_- Dining hall, Hinata House -_**

"Wow, everything smells so good, Shinobu-kun. I wish I had your culinary talents," Kanako appraised. Gesturing for the younger girl to come closer, she whispered, "You have no **idea** what I've been forced to eat to survive-- at least when Shinji wasn't cooking."

"Well, um... thank you, Kanako-sempai..."

"Speaking of which," Kanako quickly scanned the faces of those gathered at the table. "Where **is** he?"

"Motoko-sempai's not here either," Shinobu added. "Should I go up and get them both?"

The sound of the door sliding open answered that question. All pairs of eyes were drawn to the noise, but when everyone saw the two people that stood in the doorway, whatever anyone was holding in their hands dropped to the floor in shock-- as were their jaws. The Hinata crew and the trio from NERV could do nothing but gawk incredulously at the late arrivals-- well, Rei just stared as usual.

_'I told you this was a **bad** idea!'_ Shinji told Motoko with a glare, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

_'No you didn't!'_ She mouthed back, a heavy blush tingeing her cheeks. _'As if the experience wasn't horrible enough the first time... Arrgh! But Shinji is right-- this is so **stupid!** Why-oh-why did I let this happen?'_

"Wh-wh-**what the frickin' hell!**" Asuka suddenly screamed, voicing out everyone else's yet-unspoken sentiments very loudly. "Are you wearing...?" Thinking it was some grotesque nightmare, she rubbed her eyes hard and checked again. "Mein Gott! You **are!**"

Clicking her mouth back into a closed position, Kanako stepped up to Shinji, looking him up and down several times. Her analytic gaze came up once again to his face, where it lingered with a frown. With a fingernail, she carefully scratched off a slight speck of mascara from under his left eye. "Perfect!"

As calmly as he could manage, without fainting from the mass diversion of blood flow to his face, Shinji sat himself down at the table and picked up a pair of chopsticks. "_Itadakimasu_ (pre-meal 'thank you')," he said, in an uncannily feminine voice-- electronically altered, of course --and began eating, all the while wishing he could just go and hide in a tiny corner where he wouldn't be noticed.

Watching him take small bites of food-- probably not to smudge his lip gloss --reminded everyone what they were actually here for. Retrieving their fallen plates, cups, spoons and chopsticks, they started on their dinner, which by now wasn't quite as warm as it had been before. However, their gazes never left the boy-- dressed in a red turtleneck, black dress and hair extensions --for more than a minute at a time, something Motoko in her own 'girlish' attire was more than relieved about.

**_- Landlord's room, Hinata House -_**

Stirring awake, he looked at the luminescent display of the alarm clock. _'Nnn... 2:23 in the morning? Oh yay...'_ Lifting himself up from the futon with some effort, he shuffled out into the hallway, eyes still heavy with sleep. A great yawn overcame him, just as his foot caught on something on the floor. Needless to say, he stumbled and tripped, though ending up landing on something that wasn't varnished hardwood.

A sleepy voice spoke. "Shinji-kun...?"

"Rei? What are you doing out in the corridor?" he asked, his words equally as slurred.

"Soryu-san and I had a... disagreement over our sleeping arrangements, and--"

"She kicked you out?"

"I am not injured," she stated plainly, effectively ending the conversation there.

Shinji figured he should get back up, off whatever he was sprawled upon, but found that he couldn't. _'These pillows are so soft and warm... Kinda small though...'_ His eyelids were on the verge of dropping shut, when he remembered, _'Wait, wasn't I going to get a drink? Oh well, never mind...'_

"Goodnight, Rei..."

"Goodnight, Shinji-kun."

And so, he fell asleep again, head nestled comfortably between Rei's breasts. The girl followed suit soon after, returning to a quiet slumber. But there was one thing that Shinji had failed to notice and Rei hadn't given an inkling of a thought to mention: the fact that she always slept naked.

Rei enjoyed an exceptionally pleasurable sleep that night-- who knew Shinji liked hugging his pillows?

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** This chapter and the next were originally meant as a brief break, somewhat for comic relief, from the Eva storyline, for myself and the readers. Or at least that was the intent. They turned out to be even more work than regular chapters, and although I considered scrapping the whole idea, I stuck to it and came up with these bits of random silliness.

The following Omake is just more spontaneity involving the animals in both series.

* * *

**_- Omake: Penguins weren't made to fly! -_**

Kanako, with Kuro sitting atop her head, stepped into the hot springs to find two creatures already enjoying themselves in the waters. One of them she recognized, the other she didn't. They looked at her with puzzled expressions-- well, as puzzled as they could manage.

"Wark?"

"Myuh?"

_'As if the **people** in this place weren't crazy enough,'_ she thought despondently.

The little turtle shot up from the onsen and hovered in front of her face. "Myuh!"

She noticed the small label tied to one of its flippers. "Tama-chan, huh?"

"Myuh!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you too..." she offered hesitantly. _'I guess...'_

Kuro had flown off and was now in another fierce staring contest with Pen-Pen. Kanako watched them half-interestedly. _'It's really strange,_ she mused sardonically. _'How the bird can't fly, and everything else can-- a cat, a turtle, Angels, and even onii-san on short daily occasions... What is this world coming to?'_


	11. Ten: Hot Springs Hijinks, Part 2

**On the last episode:**

_"Goodnight, Rei..."_

_"Goodnight, Shinji-kun."_

_And so, he fell asleep again, head nestled comfortably between Rei's breasts. The girl followed suit soon after, returning to a quiet slumber. But there was one thing that Shinji had failed to notice and Rei hadn't given an inkling of a thought to mention: the fact that she always slept naked._

_Rei enjoyed an exceptionally pleasurable sleep that night-- who knew Shinji liked hugging his pillows?_

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

The sun was dawning. For those of you that aren't quite as literate, that means it's morning.

It was a nice morning, too. The weather was dazzlingly sunny, though that had been the norm for the last fifteen years-- stupid Second Impact! Just had to go and throw the Earth's axis out of alignment-- as if the environment wasn't screwed enough already... Where the hell are my snowy winters, dammit! Err, anyway...

Morning; yeah! It was morning, at least for the small island nation of Japan-- and probably its neighbours too, but they're not really important so we needn't linger on the details of what **their** morning was like, although it'd be much of the same...

Let's zoom in a little further, to where a city called Hinata was welcoming the first rays of sunlight. Now a little closer, to a remote-ish part of the city by the hills, a place quickly becoming known to the citizens as 'The Catapult', due to the near-daily phenomenon of one extremely unfortunate nineteen year-old male being launched across the city skies, and limping home once he'd landed.

To those who actually lived in the so-called madhouse, it was called the 'Hinata House', both affectionately and... because that's what its actual name was. All of the occupants of the hotel-turned-girls'-dorm except for the aforementioned man were, as one could easily guess, girls. Though this was only a relatively recent development, once again the details aren't really necessary, as long as you've been reading the story.

Eh? Uh...

Heck, in that case, I don't need to be writing this narrative crap! What the hell am I doing? I should be giving you the rest of the chapter! Wait, what the hell are **you** doing? Just scroll down! Common sense, people!

* * *

**Intermission (Chapter Ten): Hot Springs Hijinks, Part Two**

* * *

**_- Second floor corridor -_**

Waking up was normally an easy thing for Shinji, being used to early morning training sessions with Motoko, and being a generally well-disciplined person. But currently he was having trouble tearing his conscious away from the depths of his dreams. And as fate-- otherwise known as the 'Blatantly Obvious Outcome' --would have it, they were of a rather sexual nature, probably an MA rating. Anyone want to guess?

_-dream snippet-_

_Dream-Shinji was extremely confused. He had questions to answer, and he would've too, if his words weren't coming out all wrong. When he'd meant to say 'what's going on?', it instead came out as: "Oh yeah, that's it baby! Faster! Don't stop!"_

_The shockingly-unclothed girl kneeling in front of his equally-unclothed self was only happy to oblige. Though had Shinji been able to ask what he'd actually wanted to, she might've answered him, were her mouth not presently 'busy'. Failing that, she could've tried sign language-- if her hands weren't similarly 'occupied' either._

_Fighting against the haze of pleasure that clouded his mind, Shinji dared to peek down, curious-- at a time like this? --to know who would be so forward as to-- ahem --suck him off, even in a dream. Her features registered slowly in his eyes, one by one. Smooth milky skin, lean supple fingers, and... Suddenly she looked up at him, with eyes of ruby red, framed by short light-blue hair._

**Rei!**

_-end dream snippet-_

Shinji's eyes shot open, only to shut close again from the intense pain of abrupt exposure to sunlight. Once the glaring whiteness disappeared from his vision and they had adjusted to the light of day, he lifted his head up, looking around groggily. _'Ah, there's my pillow!'_

Reaching out with a hand he grabbed it, only to hear it let out a quiet gasp. He thought for a moment, until coming to a conclusion. _'Oh, I get it... This is one of those times where I dream that I'm awake...'_ The 'pillow' now moaned, and his headrest squirmed about. Shinji decided his futon was just bundled together and forced himself up to straighten it out and go back to sleep. _'But since this a dream, I already **am** asleep. Ha, funny...'_

He arched back, stretching his shoulders as a great yawn overcame him. Blinking away the tears, he realised he was indeed awake, and that what he'd been sleeping on was in no shape or size a futon-- nowhere close. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. _'**Rei again!**'_

The contents of the real dream flooded back into conscious memory, and Shinji violently suppressed the overwhelming urge to scream, physically clamping his own jaws shut. He needn't have bothered; Asuka had just opened her door.

"**KYAAAAAAAAAAHH!**"

It was a nice morning, indeed.

**_- Somewhere in Hinata City -_**

Sailing through the air in an arc, Shinji had just enough time to glance down at the city and 'hmm' appreciatively once before having to twist and flip his body around to prepare for a predictably painful landing. He hit the ground feet-first at roughly 15 km/h, and an angle of 75-80 degrees, the impact spiking up his shins and into his knees. They felt as if they'd collapse, but it saved him from more serious injury.

A garbled male scream could be heard getting louder-- meaning closer --and Shinji immediately jumped clear to the side. Split-seconds later, Keitaro's head struck the earth like a meteor and skidded along nearly ten metres before coming to a stop. Passers-by seemed both frightened and concerned, but only momentarily, for it was a common-enough occurrence by now.

Standing up weakly, the ronin rummaged around in his pockets for a large bandage, which he slapped on his head to stem the geyser of blood that spurted. "You want one too, Shinji?"

"No thanks, I'm alright," the boy replied, brushing off dust from his clothes. "So, what are you in for?"

"What? Oh, um... I was, um... staring," Keitaro replied distractedly, frantically searching his pockets again for something, muttering. He quickly gave up, slumping with a defeated sigh. _'Looks like I've left the grocery list behind yet again... Well, I'll be ready next time! Then I'll show--'_

Shinji poked the older teen who, to him, looked like he was performing some sort of silent stage drama of his own. "Are we going to head back yet, or do you want to stay here and busk for a few hours? From what I've heard, you probably need the money..."

Keitaro bowed his head apologetically. "Err, sorry... Just got caught up in my thoughts a little."

The two males climbed the top of a nearby hill to watch the awe-inspiring sight of dawn rising up over the horizon. With arms wide open, they greeted the morning, breathing in the refreshing breeze that blew past and also drinking in the irony of how the morning had greeted them-- with a Naru-punch each. Their surreptitious glances at each other connected, and they cracked up laughing.

"I never knew the city looked so beautiful from above," Shinji said finally.

"Yeah," Keitaro chuckled. "I consider myself pretty lucky; it's not a sight every man gets to see."

"Or survives to see again day after day."

"True, very true."

**_- Room 202 (Kanako's), Hinata House -_**

Standing out on the veranda of the room, Kanako stared out towards the stairs leading up to the dorm, absently stroking behind Kuro's ears. Though externally her expression was the usual placid mask she wore, internally her mind was whirling with emotions-- mostly jealousy, but also traces of anger and confusion. Of course, like the good little guardian spirit he was, Kuro could sense all this turmoil.

The cabbit climbed onto her hand and up to her shoulder, where it sat nuzzling her cheek. "Care to talk about your problems? I hear it's easier for humans to let it out, instead of brooding over it by themselves."

"I don't know what to do, Kuro," Kanako murmured gloomily. "I can't blame Shin-chan for being surrounded by so many other girls; it just seems to be integrating into his character now... I used to be fine with it, but it's been starting to hurt recently, seeing him directing his attention to someone else apart from me... Since when did I become so selfish?"

But she already knew the answer to that question.

"Since he told you he loved you," Kuro provided aloud.

"I'm so in conflict," she said, shaking her head sadly. "There are two identities fighting within me: the girl who wants nothing more than to reciprocate his feelings; and the sister who wants him to be happy in any relationship he chooses."

"And which of them do you want to be?"

Kanako bit her lip, unable to reply. "I... I can't decide."

Kuro hopped off her shoulder and onto the railing, to pace back and forth across it. "That's a lie, Kanako. You and I both know that deep inside, beneath the storming clouds that obscure your vision, you've already made up your mind. I must say, there's a lot of thread to unravel."

Blinking away the moisture gathering in her eyes, Kanako glared at her familiar. "You're such a damned know-it-all. Of all the Guardian Spirits Hina obaa-san could've sent me, why did I have to be stuck with the one that can talk **and** read minds?"

"We all can," the cabbit replied dryly. "All four of us; it's part of the job description. Us spirits can't help-- sorry, wrong word: **'guide'** --people if we can't even communicate with them. Speaking of which, I wouldn't be surprised if that little flying turtle was one of my old buddies in disguise..."

**_- Third floor corridor, Hinata House -_**

"But what if he's hurt?" Naru practically whined. "Shinji just isn't invincible like Keitaro is! What if he's broken a leg or something and can't walk home? We should really go out and look for him..."

"You're worrying far too much, " Kitsune said, leaning in her friend's doorway. "Even though you did punch him pretty hard, you know Shinji's not the type you can bring down easily. He's a fighter; trained in Shinmeiryuu kendo and Urashima-ryu jujitsu!"

"Ooh, alright... But if he's not back in an hour-- no, make that two --I'm going searching for him."

"He'll be back far before then, Naru." Stepping back, she closed the sliding door to Naru's room and had only taken a few steps towards the stairs when she caught a whiff of something in the air. Kitsune grinned; the smell was an extremely familiar one. _'Cheap alcohol, probably beer... Brand? Hmm, Yebisu, I think...'_

Behind the closed door to Room 303 were the temporary occupants, one Misato Katsuragi and one warm water penguin, making up for their missed wake-up beer with nearly double the amount. Where exactly the purple-haired woman had secretly stashed all these cans away in just a single travel backpack was beyond anyone else's guess.

There was a loud knock on the door, and Misato almost dropped her can. However, she couldn't stop a large portion of her drink from spilling out onto her sleeping shorts where it soaked in immediately. _'Well this just feels wonderful,'_ the woman thought sarcastically, attempting to wipe as much of it off herself as possible. "Just wait a minute, Shinji! Don't open the door yet!"

The voice that replied was female, meaning it wasn't Shinji, but after the previous evening's cross-dressing fiasco, one couldn't be 100 percent certain about that. "Uh, Katsuragi-san? This is Mitsune Konno; the one passed out during yesterday's introductions? I was wondering if you'd like to join me for some warm sake in the hot springs."

"Warm sake? Hot springs?" Misato's interest was definitely piqued.

"Just a friendly gesture, and hey, I'm sure you'd like a drinking buddy." Kitsune wore a grin that was clearly audible in her tone. "Trust me, it's going to be many times better than the Yebisu you've snuck in without Shinji knowing."

A bundle of clothes gathered in her arms, Misato opened the door. "He gets on your case about drinking, too?"

The grin on the teen's face widened. "Lady, I'm the **reason** he gets on people's cases."

**_- Kitchen, Hinata House -_**

A hungry Pen-Pen waddled into the kitchen, wondering if there was any tasty things to plunder from the fridge in this foreign place. He looked up at the large appliance and warked in despair; the door handle was attached at a height a penguin of his height simply could not reach.

He cast a sweeping gaze around the kitchen, seeking something that he could use to elevate himself to the appropriate level. The only things he saw were chairs to a standard-sized table, and once more he despaired; penguin legs just weren't designed for climbing, or even jumping-- at least not in an efficient vertical fashion.

The avidly chattering voices of two unfamiliar humans were approaching, and Pen-Pen knew he only had two options, both of which were conditioned reflexes from living in the Katsuragi household: one, escape quickly to avoid any accusations of disappearing food; or two, to act nonchalant and innocent, though this had rarely been successful-- usually due to his beak being full of fish or beef jerky at the time.

Panicking, he ran towards the only exit to the kitchen, and bumped into a slim tanned leg.

"Hey, what's this thing?" Su curiously poked the now-fallen and floundering avian.

"It's a penguin, Su," Shinobu replied. "And before you ask, no, it's not a snack."

She shrugged. "Turtles taste better anyway."

Crouching down, the indigo-haired girl put the bird on its feet again. "Hi there," she greeted with a smile, which faltered briefly as she tried to decipher his name tag. "'Pen-two'? 'Pen-squared'?"

Shaking his head, the penguin pointed to himself twice slowly.

"'Pen... Pen'?"

"Wark," he said nodding.

"Nice to meet you, Pen-Pen," Shinobu said, smiling again. "Were you hungry or-- **Su!**"

Su sat in a chair, licking a thick yellowish liquid off her finger. On the table in front of her was a plastic carton of the stuff from the still-open freezer. "This banana ice-cream tastes a bit weird, Shinomu. Are you sure you made it properly?"

"That's because it's not frozen yet!"

"Oh..."

**_- Courtyard/garden, Hinata House -_**

"Could you at least let us get washed up a bit?"

Motoko and Shinji struggled in the surprisingly strong grasps of an inebriated Kitsune and Misato, who were dragging their respective younger friends downstairs. They handed each teen a wet towel, giggling madly without apparent reason-- apart from being drunk. "You don't have time for that; we've got a contest to run."

_'And I thought I'd been through enough of this already,'_ Motoko sighed.

_'I knew this wouldn't slide quietly,'_ Shinji thought, rolling his eyes.

"Here you are," Kitsune/Misato declared in proud unison. "Your stage, your audience."

The stage was the porch to the courtyard/garden in the interior of Hinata, almost directly in the centre. The audience was Keitaro and all the other girls-- who all looked somewhat put-off, except for Kanako and Su, the latter of which was bouncing about with cheerleader's pom-poms.

Two shoji panels were set up for privacy, and a shopping bagful of clothes sat at the foot of each. An extra little package labelled 'Shinji's' in Kanako's handwriting accompanied one of the bags.

"Now listen you two," Kitsune said, attempting to be serious but failing miserably. "It's best out of five rounds. Keitaro, Naru, and Kanako are the judges. There'll be no bribery, sucking up, or any other 'favours' to sway the vote. We want a nice clean contest, alright? Oh, and whoever wins gets to keep all the cute little outfits; we made sure they'd fit either of you just fine."

"Don't just stand there, go get changed!" Misato yelled at the stunned pair. "People are waiting to see a show, so give them a show! If you don't speed things up, we'll have to pull the bikini and wet t-shirt rounds forward!"

As they were each forced behind their changing screens, the pair-- the mental imagery eliciting extreme shades of crimson in both faces --couldn't manage a coherent protest. All that came out of their mouths was a garbled mix of noises that no-one, on Earth at least, could possibly understand.

**_- location indefinable -_**

"We're picking up two signals," a blue-skinned, four-armed alien sitting at a computer console reported. "Decoding now..."

Another alien, sitting up on a higher platform nodded minutely. "Put in on the main audio circuit."

Signature One (Motoko): "My sister's a demon-possessed incestuous lesbian nymphomaniac!"

Signature Two (Shinji): "I know the real reason why my mother let herself be absorbed into Evangelion Unit-01... Turns out my father was 'vertically challenged', and a lousy fxxx even **with** the miracle of Viagra-- serves the heartless bastard right."

Down on the lower level, the three alien technicians sweatdropped. One of them leaned over to its friends and whispered, "Whose idea do you reckon it was to hack into the SETI project and steal their deciphering program to monitor Japan for hidden extra-terrestrial life forms?"

"I don't know, Makoto," another replied. "Just like I don't know why the Commander wants us to wear these wacked-up costumes either... They're getting kinda itchy now..."

The last of the trio pulled its head off, gulping in mouthfuls of air. "I can't take it anymore!" Maya cried. "How is a person supposed to breathe through all that rubber, dammit!"

"I told you they wouldn't like the costume idea," Fuyutsuki commented dryly.

Gendo 'hmm'ed, but said nothing else. _'How did Shinji know I had "problems"?'_

**_- Room 203, Hinata House -_**

The watch alarm beeped shrilly, and Asuka had to muffle the intrusive noise with her pillow before deactivating the useful but cursed item. She glanced to her right; at Rei. _'Guess I was right; she **is** a heavy sleeper.'_

She glanced at the luminous watch face. It was time, excuse the mild pun, to put her plan to action. It wasn't much of a plan in the grandest sense of the word, but she'd at least spent more that five minutes thinking the idea up. In any case, it was time.

Gathering her futon and pillow up, she tiptoed out of the room with the bundle in her arms. Every sound she made seemed so loud; having to carefully open and shut the door felt like an eternity twofold. And then there was the **other** door, which she wasn't so sure about. Luckily, it was well-oiled and slid open almost completely silently. Dropping her bedding on the floor beside it, she stepped inside.

By the dim glow of a crescent moon, she discerned that the taller one snoring to her left was the _baka hentai kanririn_ of the dorm-- her current target. Creeping forward cautiously, she grabbed two corners of Keitaro's futon and began to pull him backwards towards the corridor. Asuka nearly screamed when he shifted, murmuring something-- the only word she could catch was 'Naru' --before calming down again.

Letting out a quiet breath of relief, she dragged the sleeping man well out of the room. Picking up her stuff, she went into the room and again and shut the door behind her. What she hadn't counted on was the fact that though Shinji wasn't a particularly light sleeper, the noises had partially awoken him.

Not aware of this development, Asuka placed her futon next to Shinji's. Tossing a few more items down on the floor beside it, she lay down, and pulled the boy's blanket over herself.

Shinji didn't fail to notice the slender arms that wrapped around him from behind. Twisting his neck back, he attempted to identify the person, through poor lighting and sleep-blurred eyes. "...Asuka...? Is that you...? What are you doing here...?"

"I'm just claiming my turn," she replied nonchalantly. "So shut up and go back to sleep, baka."

He nodded acceptingly and turned his head back, happy to succumb to the night's embrace again. Then his eyes shot open, and his pulse suddenly quickened as he remembered something from not even a day ago. "Uh, Asuka? Are you, by any chance, wearing clothes? Please tell me you're wearing clothes..."

The arms around him tightened, and Shinji swore he could feel something soft-- two somethings to be exact --press against his back.

"Asuka? Asuka!"

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** Yeah, I'll freely admit these two chapters weren't particularly great. Neither was much of the response: nothing negative, but it was lackluster-- not that I was expecting anything more than that.

While any reviews or e-mail will be appreciated, honestly, don't bother. The chapters sucked.


	12. Eleven: In Darkness

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- flashback: location indefinable -_**

_"...Look!"_

_"It's him! Look!" One woman pointed out to another. "That kid."_

_"Poor little thing," the other lady whispered._

_"Did you hear about his father...?" the first continued. "He's some kind of mad scientist! I heard the boy's mother was killed in one of his experiments!"_

_"How horrible! To make your own wife into a guinea pig!"_

'Stop it,'_ Shinji thought bitterly._

_"But there's more! Then he abandoned him... He hasn't come to see him once."_

_"Oh! Poor little thing."_

'Stop it; what do you know...'

_"Poor thing..."_

'What do **you** know about **my** father?'

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: In Darkness**

* * *

**_- City surface, Tokyo-3 -_**

"It's here! All EVA Units-- **start!**"

Asuka and Rei gripped the control sticks tight in determination.

"MAGI now estimates fall point in Area B2!" Misato yelled through the comm. system. "Just run till you make eye contact with the target! The rest is up to you! Purge external power supply!"

Jettisoning the umbilical cables from their back, Units 00 and 02 broke forward into a sprint, shattering concrete underneath their feet and leaving huge gusts of wind in their wake. Unit-01, however, remained stock-still in its starting position.

"Shinji! What are you doing?"

That snapped him back to reality. _'Chikusho!'_ He swore at himself as the EVA bolted into motion, tearing through the street at breakneck speed, and dashing past several block lengths with each stride. But to Shinji, whose mind was flooded with guilt and frustration, it just didn't seem fast enough.

Clouds split apart and beams of sunlight streamed down through the gap as the massive form of Sahaquiel, the Eighth Angel and living bomb, came plummeting down from the atmosphere with tremendous force.

"Here it comes! 2km and falling!"

_'There it is,'_ Shinji thought, gritting his teeth. _'C'mon... Faster!'_

_'Make it in time!'_ The command crew hoped in unison, watching on in fear and anticipation as the purple Evangelion came to a skidding halt on top of a hill, slightly southeast of the city centre. Shinji's voice yelled over the comm. system, "Deploying AT Field at maximum!"

Trees on the hill were bent, knocked down, or even uprooted outright as the giant eye-like Angel descended upon Unit-01, who lifted its arms and braced itself for the impact. Mere split-seconds before contact, a glaring barrier of concentric hexagons flared out, stopping the Angel and keeping it held above the ground.

"Unnh...!" Shinji cried out in pain as the overbearing weight caused muscles in the EVA's arms to burst and spray blood. The earth beneath his feet was beginning to give way as well. "Asuka! Rei! Hurry!"

Joining their companion at the top of the balding crest, the other two Evangelion added their AT Field to Unit-01's, making it glow even brighter than before-- it was nearly blinding to behold in the eyes.

"Now! Go for it!"

Drawing the progressive knife from her shoulder compartment, Rei swiftly slashed a line on the AT Field and forced the incision apart to expose the Angel's crimson core. Asuka, with her own cutter, drove home the fatal strike. "How's that for an eyesore!"

The light from the AT Field dissipated, and the dying mass of Sahaquiel was free to slump to the ground, smothering the three EVA Units underneath its bulk. But that didn't last long, as its flesh bubbled and convulsed before disappearing in a massive pillar of flames and smoke.

**_- Somewhere in the Antarctic Ocean -_**

A lone aircraft carrier, surrounded by seven battleships sailed across a vast expanse of liquid red dotted with jagged spikes of white-- the only remnants of the continent called Antarctica.

"The bottom of the earth," Fuyutsuki said in a lamenting tone, looking out the window of the observation deck. "What's left of the Antarctic ice cap. This is the **real** Dead Sea; you might as well call it Hell."

Gendo too, stared at the red ocean waters. "But here we mortals are... with all signs of life."

"Because we are protected by... science?"

"Science is humanity's power."

"Ikari... It was that same arrogance which caused this, fifteen years ago..." the older man reminded. "This sea, turned to blood... It's too great a punishment."

"This land has been cleansed," the elder Ikari rebutted. "It washed away the original sin."

_'And what of **our** sins, Ikari?'_ Fuyutsuki scoffed internally. _'All the terrible things you and I have done...'_

_"Incoming message from NERV Headquarters,"_ a loudspeaker blared. _"At 0900 Japan Standard Time, an Angel appeared over NERV. At 1500 hours, it was destroyed by EVA Units 00 through 02..."_

"...Eight..."

"Yes, and four remain."

Strapped to the main deck of the carrier was an extremely long object swathed in stretches of nondescript white material, and almost spanning the whole length of the ship itself from bow to stern.

"But we have obtained the Lance," Gendo affirmed. "And with it, Man now has a reprieve..."

**_- Streets of Tokyo-3 -_**

Torrents of rain poured down from dark clouds that had been hanging ominously in the sky for hours, drenching the whole city with sheets of water. A blue Renault Alpine sped down a street, its four occupants having currently said nothing during the entire trip.

"Nice work, Shinji," Misato spoke, her sarcastic tone not lost on the boy.

"Please Misato," he sighed dejectedly. "I really don't need all this, especially from you..."

The woman pretended she didn't hear him. "Your hesitation today cut the plan's margin of error to **one second.** One second! If you'd blinked just once more--"

"Stop the car," Shinji hissed icily.

"What?"

In his rare display of anger, the boy that glared at her in the rear-view mirror was a striking image of his father, a man who had never failed to unnerve anyone he faced-- anyone except the son himself. "You heard me correct the first time, Major Katsuragi. Stop the car."

Misato complied. As much as she knew that she was in many ways his superior, the cold authority in Shinji's voice spoke volumes of how much blood is thicker than water. She put on the brakes and brought the car down to a stop on the corner of a local park.

"I'm walking home," Shinji stated coldly. "Let's go, Kanako."

"B-but, Shinji...! You'll get soak--"

The door slammed shut on her words.

Asuka whistled. "What the hell was **that?**"

**_- Katsuragi residence, Tokyo-3 -_**

_'It's almost midnight,'_ Asuka noticed. _'Shinji still hasn't come back...'_ She glanced back into the kitchen, where on the table, lay the remainder of dinner, as well as a dozing Misato. Oddly enough, there were absolutely no empty beer cans to be seen. _'She didn't drink a single drop tonight...'_

The girl sat watching the even rising and falling of her back as she slept on. Sudden resolve forming in her mind, Asuka climbed over the back of the couch and to the kitchen table. Taking one of Misato's arms, she hefted her onto a shoulder with a grunt. "Dammit woman, lose some weight!"

She shut the door to Misato's room, having tucked the woman into bed. _'Honestly, sometimes I think she's more of a child than we are...'_ Just as she was about to retreat to her own room, the front door caught her eye. _'I wonder if he's even got his key?'_ Going to unlock it, Asuka almost slipped over; the entrance floor was wet, slick with water that had seeped in underneath the door.

Curious, she opened the door and peered out. There was a large puddle right in front of the apartment, with footsteps leading to and from it. _'He was here,_ she realised. _But... why didn't he come in?'_ Hurriedly, she slipped on a pair of shoes and followed the trail that seemed to lead upstairs.

_'Don't tell me he went and threw himself off the top of the building or something,'_ Asuka thought, climbing up what felt like the hundredth set of stairs. Finally, she reached the top floor. Though she'd only gone up seven stories, her legs ached, and sweat rolled down her brow, despite the cold of the night. Now one final door stood closed in her way.

Twisting the handle, she swung it open, and gasped in shock.

Both thoroughly sopping from head to toe, Shinji and Kanako were engaged in a fierce sparring session, sailing through the air with unbelievable speed, and launching a furious barrage of kicks and punches at each other. Even more alarming was the fact that both had their eyes closed, instead relying on hearing every strike through the sound of the rain.

"Shinji?"

He immediately stopped and opened his eyes to look at her. "Asuka? What are you doing here?"

"I followed the footsteps outside the door and-- hey! You stole my question!"

The boy smiled apologetically. "Oh, I was just up here with onee-chan, working off the stress."

Asuka quirked an eyebrow. "For over four hours?"

"Thought I might get a bit of light training in as well," Shinji shrugged.

The incredulous expression didn't quite vanish from her face. _'"Light" training?'_

"C'mon Shin-chan, let's go inside," Kanako offered, beating the German girl to the chase. "It's probably too late to say anything about catching a cold now, but we should really go get warmed up... I'm freezing."

"Yeah, me too..."

Wordlessly, Asuka followed the pair downstairs, eyes jealously locked onto their intertwined hands.

**_- Pilot changing rooms, NERV -_**

"I swear, if I had to stay in that plug for five more minutes, I would've **screamed.**"

Shinji stifled a yawn, while listening to Asuka complain loudly. The three of them-- Rei, Asuka, and himself --had just finished off a three-hour harmonics test, and he had to agree, they could bore someone to death. _'What a horrible way to die, that'd be... to actually **die** from boredom.'_

"--just how the hell do you put up with it?"

In his current state of lethargy, Shinji didn't realise she'd asked an actual question, and that it was for him. Admittedly, it could've been for Rei, but Asuka didn't like the blue-haired albino for untold reasons, and usually chose to ignore her, as the girl herself did everything else.

"Are you going to answer me or not?"

"Huh?"

Asuka let out a frustrated growl. "You weren't even **listening** to me?"

"Well Asuka, I'm--" Shinji yawned again, with added loudness to prove a point. "--nearly falling asleep on my feet here. I had enough trouble trying to stay awake in the plug, so cut me some slack. Either that, or shut up so my poor head can get some rest."

Temper flaring, the girl was about to throw aside the flimsy screen that divided the changing rooms and burst into yet another tirade, when everything turned pitch black.

"Hey! Who turned the lights out?"

**_- Elevator No. 55, NERV -_**

"Phew," Kaji sighed, sitting on the floor of the dark elevator and trying to move as little as possible. "The emergency phone's still dead... and it's been a whole hour."

"I wonder how long we'll be stuck here," Misato grumbled, flapping her hands uselessly. "I'm **soooo** hot!"

"No AC, no phone, no lights!" He looked at her. "Why don't you take that leather jacket off?"

Glaring back, the woman buttoned up the top. "Don't get any weird ideas about picking up from where Asuka came in. I was drunk, and not in my right mind."

"I was drunk too," Kaji pointed out. "Must have been the booze that made me try to kiss you like that."

"Well, now that you've made that so clear, I feel better."

"Say... didn't our whole relationship start with just that sort of drunken evening?" The man chuckled. "But, it's not as if I regret one moment with you. Do you remember how we used to lie around naked all day, miss every class? Just talking or fighting about little things... Those two years had a light in them, a shine from our own distant planet. I think that was the only time where I was truly happy in my life.

"How can you say such corny things with a straight face?"

Kaji folded his arms behind his head, leaning back on the elevator wall. "I'm only asking you to believe this: if... I mean, no matter what happens to me, I won't be sorry to die... because I had that time with you. That's all."

Misato looked at him questioningly. "What? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just the times being what they are and all..."

She turned away from him. "Well, whatever. I hate to interrupt such deep thoughts... but I really **really** have to go to the bathroom." Her face was somewhat pale, and her body was shaking with the effort to hold it in.

"No foolin'?"

**_- Corridor A-17, NERV -_**

"Say, Shinji..." Asuka began. "Where are we?"

_You tell **me...**_ Shinji rolled his eyes. "For the seventeenth time Asuka, I haven't a clue. So stop asking."

"Sheesh, not very friendly..."

"May I remind you that it was **your** idea to go looking for Misato? NERV is enough of a maze even **with** the lights on, so how were we ever supposed to make our way around in the dark? We probably can't even get back to the command centre now..."

Falling silent again, the pair ventured further into the dark, not knowing where they were going and, in Shinji's case, not really caring anymore. They continued on like this for a few minutes, until Asuka spoke up again.

"Hey, Shinji. Have you ever kissed a girl before?"

Memories of Christmases past flashed by in Shinji's mind, all of them in particular involving a drunken Kitsune, mistletoe, and eventually every other girl in Hinata House. Though in retrospect, he wasn't entirely sure whether to curse the fox-eyed teen or to thank her. "Err, yeah... Once or twice..."

"Were any of those occasions with Kanako, may I ask?"

"That's, well..." the boy trailed off, hesitant to disclose that kind of information.

In the dark, the rather crestfallen look on Asuka's face wasn't visible. But there was a desperate edge in her voice that captured her disappointment thoroughly, as she concluded, "So, you have."

It wasn't at all difficult to pick up on her tone, but Shinji failed to decipher the hidden meaning behind it. He came close to drawing out an answer when he innocently replied, "Well, I'm not going to admit or deny that statement. But why are you so curious to know if I've kissed onee-chan or not? It's almost as if you're jealous..."

"I am not jealous!" the girl hollered, a little too quickly. "I just--"

Asuka found herself backing up against a wall as Shinji's face drew uncomfortably closer to hers with the faintest hint of a smile. "I mean, if you want to," he said, his breath hot against her reddening cheeks. "I don't mind giving you a little... sample."

_'Why won't my body move!'_ she screamed mentally.

Soft, warm lips made contact with her own at the same instant in which the lights blinked back on, and a succession of noises preceded the 'ting!' of the elevator doors opening up to reveal Misato and Kaji tangled on a sweaty heap on top one another. Her body unfroze at the sight, and she shoved Shinji away from her. "Wh-what are you guys doing...?" she asked the couple.

They managed a weak laugh. "We were just about to ask the same thing...!"

Kaji and Misato managed a weak laugh. "Heh! Same to you...!"

**_- Geofront entrance corridor D-20, NERV -_**

Upon Asuka's somewhat loud and whiny insistence, Shinji had decided to skip school-- which he didn't mind at all, to be honest --and go to NERV instead, to find Kaji and tell him that there was nothing between the girl and himself. Despite her weak yet substantial excuse of it being the second day of her period-- something he wished he hadn't been told --he didn't see why she couldn't just do it herself.

_And here I am,_ he thought, turning the emergency manual crank to the usually-automated gates. _'When are they going to get full power back? Or at least they could've kept these things regularly--'_ "Lubricated!" he finished with a grunt.

Squeezing through the barely wide enough gap, Shinji headed down the corridor. After a few minutes, he came to a not-so-surprising conclusion. _'Oh great, just great... I think I'm lost now...'_ But he wasn't completely doomed, or so he assumed, as long as Kanako was somewhere within earshot. "Please tell me you know where we are, onee-chan."

The air beside him shimmered briefly, then without warning, Kanako was standing there dressed in something very similar to a plug suit, except it was a uniform silvery colour and had a veiled hood to cover the face. "Which answer would you like to hear: the long-winded one that really means nothing at all; or just a plain, simple 'no'?"

Shinji slumped with a defeated sigh. Then, giving Kanako a once-over, he asked, "What's with the outfit?"

"Stealth suit. Su lent it to me," she answered. "No, it's safe! I got the Engineering Department to remake it!" she added hastily, seeing the boy visibly recoil in fright at the sound of Su's name, looking at her as if she would explode at any moment. _ 'And I probably would've,' _she thought darkly. _'despite Su's effort to convince me otherwise...'_

"Whew," he breathed, holding a hand over his pounding heart. "What a relief... That girl may be a genius, but her and those crazy inventions she tinkers up are like Third Impact on legs, I swear..."

Kanako was about to make her own euphemistic comment, but something flickered on the edge of her peripheral vision. She whirled around to just catch the flap of a red jacket round the corner. "I think I just saw Misato-san! C'mon Shin-chan, let's follow her!"

_'It's not like I'd have disagreed,'_ Shinji thought, being half-dragged along by his wrist. _'but having the option to do so might have been well appreciated...'_

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** The usual notice, as always: reviews, or "cala1019" at Gmail. Thanks everyone.

* * *

**_- Omake: Asuka, meet Kuro! -_**

"I'm back," Asuka called.

No response.

"Hello...? Doesn't anyone even care that **I** have returned home?"

"Oh, hey Asuka!" Shinji greeted, peeking out from the kitchen. On the apron he wore, a message had been hand-embroidered on it: 'Be nice to me! I keep you fed!'. He gestured vaguely to the headphones hanging around his neck. "Sorry; I didn't hear you come in..."

"Hmph. Whatever." Shooting him a brief death-glare-- which, unsurprisingly, had little effect --she went to her/formerly-Shinji's room. Dumping her school bag unceremoniously at the foot of her wardrobe, she quickly changed out of her uniform, leaving that too, carelessly strewn by the bag.

She came out of the room, dressed in a red cut-off shirt and white shorts. Passing the kitchen/dining area, she paused and stood there watching Shinji stir something busily in a pot, nodding his head and humming quietly along to a song Asuka couldn't hear. It looked rather ridiculous, but for reasons unknown, she couldn't bring herself to make an acidic remark about the scene. Stupid as it seemed, it just...

"Did you need something?"

Startled, Asuka floundered about for a plausible lie. "Huh? Oh, I was just, um... What was I going to ask...? I, uh, was wondering... Yeah, wondering...! If there was anything I could snack on..." Internally, she felt like slapping herself. _'Mein Gott! That was probably the lamest excuse I've ever heard in my whole life! And worse, it even came from my own mouth...!'_

Shinji pretended to buy the excuse. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Just wait a little longer, okay?"

"A-alright..." A blush crept uncontrollably across her cheeks. As soon as she realised it, she spun on her heels and charged towards the living room, leaping over the back of the couch and swiping the remote from Pen-Pen. _'What was th--'_

Something squirmed underneath her, and she jumped three feet in the air, shrieking for dear life. From the depression her body had made on the seat, a rather disgruntled black cabbit floated out. Licking its paws, it smoothed them over its ears, straightening the fur on them in a similar fashion to as one would when fixing their hair.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS **THAT?**"

Kuro floated down to Asuka's eye level and glared at her. "I **do** have a name, you know."

"THE THING CAN EVEN **TALK?**"

A mischievous grin threatened to split the cabbit's snout. Floating closer to the girl's face until their noses touched, he spoke in his most intimidating Guardian Spirit voice: "Boo."

Asuka fainted, collapsing to the floor in a most undignified pose.


	13. Twelve: Prelude to Crisis

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- Terminal Dogma, NERV -_**

In one swift motion, Kaji brought his hand down and swiped the card into the slot. The lock beeped in recognition and immediately changed from an orange '**LOCKED**' to a green '**OPEN**'. As the thick steel-plate doors clanked open, Misato almost dropped her gun as the object inside came into view.

A massive white torso, its face obscured by a mask depicting seven eyes and a triangle, was crucified to an equally large cross of red. Where the figure had been severed, the flesh was covered with bulbous growths and protrusions that were shaped uncannily like the lower halves of a human. An orange-yellow liquid oozed out, trickling slowly down the cross and pooling at its base.

"This is... an EVA? No! It can't be..."

"Sure it can," Kaji replied grimly. "This is the Instrumentality Project. This is also Project-E. This the beginning... of everything."

_'Adam...! The First Angel... is **here?**'_ Misato continued to stare up. "You were right, Kaji. I don't understand this organization."

Behind them, there was the sound of footsteps.

They both whirled around at the noise. "Kanako...! Shinji...! What are you doing here?"

Gazes fixed on the suspended giant, neither teen could answer that question.

_'Father...'_ Shinji thought. _'You're completely out of your mind... What the hell are you trying to do...?'_

_'If Gendo Ikari hadn't been a dangerous and mysterious man already,'_ Kanako said to herself-- and in a way, the cabbit on her shoulder. _'this would definitely put him on the nominations list for it...'_

All and any jokes about Angels making great play-buddies for Su were wisely unmentioned.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Prelude to Crisis**

* * *

**_- Streets of Tokyo-3 -_**

Having finished yet another batch of synch tests, Shinji was now walking home.

In the silence of relative alone-ness, his thoughts drifted back to the crucified Angel in Terminal Dogma. _"Forget what you saw down there,"_ Misato had told him. _'But,'_ he said to himself. _'human minds just don't work that way, do they? Tell a person one thing, and they'll end up doing exactly the opposite... Unless you're Rei Ayanami... but that's not her fault, is it?'_

A car suddenly honked beside him and reflexively, he jumped into a fighting stance.

Kaji waved a hand in greeting. "Glad to see you're alert," he quipped.

"Kaji-san..."

"Headed home, right? I'll give you a ride."

"But..."

"Don't worry, Miss Urashima can come along too." Leaning over, he opened the passenger door to the tiny two-seater. "Though I'm afraid she'll have to sit on someone's lap. And as much as I'd like that to be me, you can't drive, so it'll probably have to be yours." As he gestured for the odd-looking shadow by a nearby tree to come closer, he added, "Besides, I want to talk to you a little..."

Shinji tried to sit on the very edge of the seat hoping to share it instead, but alas, the car itself being a rather sporty type, it so happened to be a bucket seat. That plan failing, Kanako was forced to indeed, sit on the boy's lap. Though she was angled sideways, neither of them wanted to admit that it was a rather awkward position, not out loud anyway. There was also a not-so-little 'something' prodding Kanako's thigh too.

"We won't tell anyone about the other day," Shinji said, attempting to turn his attention elsewhere.

"That works for me!" Glancing at him, Kaji mistook the boy's uncomfortable silence as a thoughtful one. "You know... I'm actually glad that you two-- you especially, Shinji --saw what you did. And to be honest, there's a lot more things you should see. Why don't we make a day of it?"

**_- City aquarium, Tokyo-3 -_**

"What I don't get is... why tell me all this? Aren't I just a pawn in this plan you mentioned?"

Kaji smiled, and blew out a jet of smoke. "Just remember that even pawns can become queens. Not that I'm talking about a sex change, of course... But I digress: I'm telling you all of this because you not only have the right, but also a duty to know-- as the child of Yui Ikari, the creator of Gendo Ikari... and the Evangelion Series."

"Mom...?"

"'EVA', born from 'ADAM'," the man continued. "Your mother solved that primary problem. She saw what cracking the human genome really meant... As a scientist, she was fearless."

"I can't remember... my Mom being in any lab," Shinji said, perplexed. "To me, she was just... like any normal mom... Until Father made her a test subject... and she... hasn't been in this world since."

"You don't remember? You must've seen it with your own eyes, the moment she vanished... You're just shutting out that painful memory, keeping it from conscious thought."

_'I... I am?'_ Shinji needn't have tried, for the memory resurfaced by itself, as if to say 'hey, here I am! I've just been hiding in a deep dark recess of your mind up until now!'. Standing up, he went to the glass wall of the aquarium, placing both hands on it. What he saw, smelt and heard was no longer the brightly coloured tropical fish darting about in the water, or the acrid dryness of cigarette smoke, or the saccharine J-pop playing over the speakers.

_-flashback snippet-_

_"But Yui," someone was saying. "Today is your big day!"_

_"That's exactly why," her voice replied through a comm. channel. "I want him to remember this day... To show him humanity's bright future."_

_And in mere moments, the test bay was ablaze with red warning lights, the smell of blood and oil prevailed, the voices of various panicking people... and the unearthly roars of the Evangelion as it writhed about furiously._

_-end flashback snippet-_

_'That's right...'_ Shinji clutched his head, and slumped to the floor, kneeling. _'I **knew** about the Evangelion...!'_

Gently taking the boy's shoulders, Kaji helped him sit back on the viewing bench. "I'm sorry," he apologised. "You shouldn't force yourself... But Shinji, you **mustn't** look away... from the truth."

**_- Kanako and Shinji's room, Katsuragi residence -_**

Lying on his futon, Shinji stared blankly up at the ceiling, trying to digest the meaning of Kaji's words.

_"But Shinji, you **mustn't** look away... from the truth._

_"Listen to me. It's easy to look the other way, to do only what people tell you, to take the smooth road. But you're a child of mysteries: Gendo and Yui Ikari's son... and an Evangelion pilot. These things leave you with a duty to seek the truth. I'm telling you what **I** know. But look with your own eyes, listen with your own ears, and think with your own mind. From now on..._

_"**...that** has to be your work."_

Kanako's concerned face loomed over his vision. "Are you alright, Shin-chan? Ever since you had that chat with Kaji-san, you've been acting all broody. What did you two talk about anyway?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I said 'nothing', right?" He attempted a smile, but the result was more of a grimace. "Of course not. You always seem to know when I'm lying."

She flicked his nose. "Darned right I do. So 'fess up. Before I'm forced to tickle it out of you."

Not receiving an immediate reply, she leant down with clawed hands, prepared to 'gently' torture the boy. At the same time, he lifted himself to sit upright. The resulting collision of heads, and the subsequent cries of pain, went something like this:

"Bzzt! Too late--"

"Hey, onee-chan--"

Crack!

"**OWW!**"

Clutching their hurting foreheads, the two teens reeled back-- both of them curling up into tight balls beside each other. Their visions swam, and Shinji could've sworn he saw a chibi version of Evangelion Unit-01 moonwalk across his line of sight, while a chibi-Gendo did the chicken dance for Kanako-- she promptly shot the imaginary figure dead.

Once the pain had subsided and the delusions had disappeared, they looked at one another and sniggered. That soon blew up into peals of laughter, as they held their sides rolling about on the floor. Shinji felt all the previous days' stress and worry melt away like snow.

The room door was abruptly thrown open.

"What's all the noise in here?" Asuka demanded, hands on her hips. "Why can't you two just be quiet and let a woman enjoy her beauty sleep?"

"Much-needed beauty sleep, I'd say," Shinji snickered.

"What? C'mere you! I am **so** going to wring--"

**_- Visual operations centre, NERV -_**

"The only direct evidence are these visuals from OB-SAT 8. It simply ceased to exist."

An extreme long-range aerial view of the Second American NERV Branch was projected on the floor, moments before and as it disappeared under a rapidly expanding sphere of fire. Then the screen turned to static, and was replaced with white block letters: 'NERV-02, VANISHED'.

"The NERV-02 facility in Nevada, containing EVA Unit-04 vanished-- as did everything else within a 49km radius," Shigeru read off his report. "We didn't have the telemetry up at the time, but the schedule had 02 attempting an experimental loading of the S2 Engine Hamburg and Berlin restored."

Maya supplemented with her own file. "MAGI lists a range of possible causes: 32768 of them... From insufficient materials strength and inherent design flaws... to sabotage."

"If it had blown up, **that** would be sabotage," Makoto pointed out. "You said it just ceased to exist!"

Misato summed up the situation with a most eloquent question. "We don't even fully understand what we're doing-- what did we expect?"

Beside her, Ritsuko had no answer for that but silence.

**_- Children's ward, Tokyo-3 hospital -_**

"Bye, onii-chan," the girl said with a wave.

"_Oyasumi_ (rest well), Mari-chan," Shinji waved back. "I'll come back again sometime, I promise."

The door shut with a quiet 'click'.

"Hey, Toji? Are you alright?" Shinji looked over at his friend, who stood leaning against a wall and silently staring down at his feet with an unusually somber expression.

"Hm? Oh, nah, I'm fine..." Toji shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk off. "Just fine..."

Perplexed, Shinji briskly caught up and walked along beside him, down the long hallway. Even as they entered the elevator and made their way to the ground floor, neither of them spoke a word. It was only as the two stepped out of the air-conditioned hospital building that Toji stopped and turned to face his friend, clearly intent on saying something. "Look, Shinji... I..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad ya came along t'day..." The boy let out a breath, as if a great burden had been lifted from him by saying that. "Mari's wanted ta meet ya fer a long time... When I told her dat I somehow became friends with da guy who I'd thought was responsible fer puttin' her in hospital, ya know what she did?"

Shinji shook his head.

"She laughed," Toji said, hints of tears gathering in his eyes. "Even though it hurt her injured body so much, she laughed. And then she told me off: 'Silly onii-chan, you've got it all wrong. I'm alive, thanks to him, and don't you forget it!' I never felt so embarrassed-- or guilty --before in my life..."

"That's why you tried to beat me up, wasn't it?" Shinji asked, remembering the moment rather well.

Toji nodded. "Yeah, about that... I'm sor--"

"Don't be," the boy said quickly, even a bit evasively. "No, really. Don't be sorry."

"Huh? Why not?"

"You see..." Shinji poked his fingertips together uneasily. "Well, obviously you don't remember it, but I, uh... kinda... knocked you out before you could even touch me... Hey, if it'll make you feel any better, I'll let you have free hit right now."

Slightly confused, Toji lifted a hand and stared alternately at it and Shinji. "Nah, it wouldn't be right," he said finally. "Even if ya did hit me first. Let's just say ya owe me one instead, ay?"

"Alright," Shinji grinned. "I guess that's fair enough."

**_- Room 3-B, First City Junior High -_**

"I expect that homework to be completed by **tomorrow,** understand?"

A collective groan erupted from the students as they gathered their belongings and began milling out of the classroom for their lunch break. One of the last to leave was Kanako. Having no particular set social obligations and little desire to partake in such, she was in no hurry to get anywhere anytime soon.

Her bag squirmed about on the desk. Kanako smiled, and quickly checking to see if anyone else was around-- even the teacher had long since left --leisurely, almost lazily, unzipped the bag. A ruffled black cabbit climbed out of the gaping maw. "Oh shut up," Kuro growled, glaring up at his mistress. "Let's stuff **you** in a sack for a couple of hours and see how you like it."

The smile on her face only grew wider, a little insidious.

Acting quickly, Kuro launched himself into the air and soared up above the girl's reach. It was once he was hovering safely near the ceiling that he realised that Kanako's mind had been closed off to him-- he hadn't been able to detect her intentions. _'Has she learnt how to block mental intrusion already?'_

"C'mon Kuro-chan," Kanako called innocently. "Or don't you want to have lunch?"

Kuro's stomach grumbled in reply, eliciting a quiet laugh from the girl. Tips of his ears burning with embarrassment, he floated over and perched on Kanako's left shoulder. "Just promise you won't cram me in that bag **ever** again."

"I promise," she said, tapping his nose affectionately. "You silly."

They stepped out of the classroom, down the hallway and the stairs. As they turned a corner, a familiar boy dressed in a tracksuit bumped into them.

"Sorry," he murmured, before returning on his way.

Then Kanako heard the message squawking over the school's PA system:

_"...Toji Suzuhara, come to the Principal's Office immediately. Repeat, Toji Suzuhara..."_

**_- School rooftop, Tokyo-3 -_**

Leaning over the railing, Kensuke chewed on his mouthful of sandwich thoughtfully. "Hey, Shinji...?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it true... that the American EVA, Evangelion Unit-03, has been completed?"

Shinji gave his friend a side-long glance. "You shouldn't hack into your Dad's computer so often, Kensuke. If you get caught..." Leaving that sentence hanging, he answered, "Honestly I don't know, I've never heard of a Unit-03 before..."

"You really don't know?" the boy asked dubiously, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Not even that it'll be flown over from America and tested at NERV-02 in Matsushiro within the week?"

"Listen, I really--"

Taking hold of Shinji's shoulders, Kensuke pleaded desperately. "I **know** you have to keep things a secret! But for the sake of friendship, won't you at least tell me if they've chosen a pilot or not!" The look of urgency disappeared as a new thought came to mind. "I-if they haven't chosen yet, maybe... Maybe **I** could be a pilot! You can put in a good word for me to Misato-san, can't you Shinji? Please...!"

Unable to dispel the unsettling image of Kensuke playing city-scale war games in an EVA, Shinji eased off the other boy's hold on him and straightened out his shirt. "Look, even if... they haven't assigned a pilot yet... it isn't likely that NERV takes volunteers, you know."

"That's true," Kensuke sighed in defeat. "But with Unit-04 gone, that may have been my last chance..."

"What? Unit-04?"

"You didn't know about that either? It was an absolute disaster; the EVA exploded-- sunk the entire Nevada Branch into a crater the size of Tokyo-3! Made a catastrophic mess over at my Dad's section..."

_'How come Misato never said a word to me about all this?'_ Shinji wondered sourly.

Kensuke glanced down at his watch. "Lunch break is nearly over, and Toji still hasn't come back..."

"Yeah... I wonder what's happened to him..."

**_- Katsuragi residence, Tokyo-3 -_**

_-flashback snippet-_

_"So who is it? The Fourth Child."_

_Wordlessly, Ritsuko brought up the dossier on her computer screen._

_Misato gasped, and briefly considered it lucky that she hadn't been holding anything in her hands, because she would've dropped it. "No..." she whispered, eyes wide with shock and horror. "You've got to be **kidding** me... This is a joke, right? The Fourth Child can't possibly be--"_

_-end flashback snippet-_

"--sato? Misato!"

She blinked, and found herself back in the real world, where a wonderful-smelling meal sat waiting patiently on the dinner table, it's teenage creator looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"Hey, are you alright? You seem a little... edgy."

"Oh, it's nothing," she lied, attempting a weak smile. "Just tired, that's all."

Shinji returned to his dinner, but Misato knew from his expression and quick glances that he didn't believe her one bit. _'And rightfully so,'_ she thought bitterly. _ 'I **feel** like a wreck; it's pretty obvious that I probably **look** like one too...'_ Then she realised Kanako was giving her a strange stare as well. Try as she might, Misato couldn't bring herself to meet the girl's piercing gaze.

Only Asuka seemed oblivious to it all-- either that or she just didn't care. "I'm finished," she announced, and picking up her empty bowls, put them in the sink before retreating to her room.

Dinner was over soon after that, and upon Shinji's ardent request, Misato was attempting to make friends with a hot cup of green tea, which she had to admit wasn't all that bad. She sat at the table sipping her drink in silence, listening half-heartedly to the sounds of washing up and laughter, mind running loops around the same question. _'How...? Just **how** do I break the news...?'_

"Don't worry, onee-chan. I can finish off by myself," she heard the boy say.

_'It's now or never,'_ Misato thought. She stood up and faced Kanako as she came out of the kitchen, the serious expression on her face stopping the girl in her tracks.

"Kanako? Could I... talk to you for a moment...?"

* * *

_(Reformatted and minutely re-touched for its EFO debut.)_

**_A/N:_** Real life really put a strain on writing and updating. At the time of this chapter's release, I was laden down with four different assignments, three of them due all on the same day and one the next. I will tell you now that I intentionally flunked one of them, but received brilliant marks for the rest.

Thanks for sticking around and keeping an interest in my story. As always, all forms of feedback except maybe flames are welcome in reviews or to "cala1019" at Gmail.


	14. Thirteen: Unlucky 13

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

**_- Kanako and Shinji's room, Katsuragi residence -_**

_"Whether or not you tell Shinji is completely up to you."_

The words repeated themselves over and over in Kanako's mind as she lay awake in her futon. The burden of knowledge that had been imparted to her was driving all thoughts of sleep away, tired as she was. Torn between the choices and their consequences, Kanako could fully understand why Misato hadn't been able to disclose what she had directly to Shinji. _'But now that **I'm** the one that has to decide, **she** can rest easy,'_ she thought resentfully.

She rolled her head to the right; the boy's closed eyes looked so peaceful, unlike her own troubled expression. Just as well he was asleep, otherwise he would have asked questions. And questions meant one of two things: answering him or lying to him, neither of which were particularly pleasing options to Kanako for many reasons.

_'Still,'_ she mused. _'if it comes down to having to lie outright, I should really think up a plausible one and quick-- there's only a few days left now, and I'd prefer to have Shin-chan find out in the most "pleasant" way possible--'_

Her sensitive ears picked up on a strange noise coming from the general direction of Misato's room. Though muffled by several walls, and probably some conscious effort to suppress them, the rapid series of breathless gasps and moans distinctly meant only one thing.

Kanako frowned. It wasn't within her jurisdiction, she felt, to criticize the woman's lifestyle and certain 'habits', but there were just some things that she didn't approve of. _'At least she's sensible enough to choose a relatively discreet time to relieve herself...'_

Letting out a sigh, she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, attempting to sleep.

_'...though the place I can't entirely agree with.'_

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Unlucky 13**

* * *

**_- Room 2-A, First City Junior High -_**

Asuka snuck yet another glance back at Shinji, who made no pretense of not being at least half-asleep. _'I wonder if that baka knows who it is yet... The Fourth...'_ Facing forward again, she let out a quiet sigh. _'Misato's bound to know, but I doubt she's had the guts to tell him... And as for the Child hers--'_

Her terminal beeped with an incoming message.

S. Ikari: I caught you looking. What is it?  
Goddess Asuka: Nothing. Go back to sleep, baka.

There was a few seconds pause before a reply came.

S. Ikari: For 'nothing', you've been doing a lot of turning around.

_'He's been noticing me all those times?'_

Goddess Asuka: I've just been checking the time! God this is so boring!  
S. Ikari: The class clock's on the front wall, Asuka.  
S. Ikari: And before you pretend to have forgotten, it's always been on the front wall.  
S. Ikari: Oh, one more thing that I should mention...  
S. Ikari: ...You wear a watch.  
S. Ikari has disconnected.

The face of said watch on her wrist silently mocked her as the second hand ticked by busily. _'Scheisse,'_ Asuka swore internally, cheeks burning with mixed embarrassment and anger. She could just imagine him, behind her, sitting there wearing a smug smirk like a cat with its cream. _'Dammit, why does he always have to be right?'_

When the lunch bell finally rang ten minutes later, she literally sprinted out of the classroom, even before Hikari could initiate her 'rise, bow' routine. Neither she nor Shinji failed to notice this; but then again, it wasn't hard even for the whole class. Hikari shot Shinji an inquisitive glance; he only shrugged in return.

Pulling a single bento out of his bag, the boy approached her. "Hey, _inchou,_ could I ask you to make sure that Asuka gets this? And... please tell her that I'm sorry."

Hikari crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "What have you done now, Ikari-kun?"

"Oh, come on," Shinji exclaimed. "Now you're just making it sound incriminating. It wasn't anything serious, just a bit of petty bickering. Except maybe this time..." His tone lowered to a regretful murmur. "I don't know... maybe I poked at her pride a bit too hard this time."

Uncrossing her arms, Hikari took the lunchbox from his hands. "So, I understand the apology... But what's this for?"

"Peace offering," he answered.

"Peace offering?" she echoed, blinking.

**_- In transit above the Pacific Ocean -_**

The radio of the huge carrier aircraft crackled to life with the incoming transmission. _"This is Ecta Six-Four calling Neopan Four-Zero-Zero. Confirm cumulonimbus clouds in your immediate flight path, over."_

Suspended underneath the plane, bound in crucifixion to its restraining prop, was the American-produced Evangelion Unit-03. Its glass eyes stared blankly ahead, showing no signs of sentience.

"This is Neopan Four-Zero-Zero," the pilot responded in turn. "Cumulonimbus clouds confirmed. Barometer indicates no hazard. We will maintain course and expect to arrive on schedule."

But as the carrier flew into the stormy-looking cloud, and the dark mists shrouded both plane and EVA, a brief light flickered in the glass eyes of Unit-03. Almost as if it had been... expecting this.

**_- School rooftop, Tokyo-3 -_**

"So where have you been, man?" Kensuke asked through a mouthful of hamburger. "We thought something happened to you, when you didn't come back from the Principal's Office, not to mention not coming to school for days."

Toji leant back on the railing with a sigh. He looked exhausted and ready to drop off pretty soon, but he stood there with a small smile on his face. "Oh... Nah, it was nothin'. I was just at da hospital wit my sister, dat's all."

Shinji, who had been rather quiet since the morning, perked up at the word 'hospital'. "There isn't anything wrong with Mari-chan, is there?"

The smile on Toji's face widened, and he patted Shinji's back. "Don'tcha worry about a thing, yo. She's gonna be feelin' much better soon, now dat she's finally gettin' her operation. Dat's why I got called up t'da Principal, y'see. Paperwork an' all dat."

"Oh, that's good news." His mind drifted back into the state of silent brooding. _'I just can't shake the feeling that something ominous is looming, biding its time to strike... This can't be good, it just can't. Maybe, maybe I should call onee-chan and see if everything's alright...'_ Hand reaching for his phone automatically, he dialed the number in slow deliberation.

"I wonder who the lucky new pilot is," an animated Kensuke was explaining to Toji. "I didn't tell you, did I, that one of the American EVAs, Unit-04..."

_'Damn, why won't she pick up!'_

"...here for testing. Isn't that right, Shinji?"

Taken by surprise, he nearly dropped the phone off the building. "P-pardon?"

Kensuke adjusted his glasses and stared at him dubiously. "I said, 'And now they've brought Unit-03 here for testing'. Jeez, you're really not yourself today. Are you okay, man?"

"I-I'm fine... It's nothing."

"So it's true, right? The EVA."

"Yeah. Misato left for Matsushiro yesterday, for the start-up experiment." Shinji glanced down at his watch. "I guess it'd be happening right about now..."

**_- NERV-02 test facility, Matsushiro -_**

_"All neural links nominal."_

_"Harmonics nominal."_

_"Approaching absolute borderline... Point nine, point six, point two-- clear."_

Unit-03's eyes flashed awake. It began rumbling into motion, flexing slowly at first as to gauge the strength of its bindings. It wasn't the least fazed by the disconnection of the umbilical cable, and stepped forward, tearing the restraints off the wall with utmost ease.

"Abort failed! Repeat, abort failed!"

"Detecting high energy signature from Unit-03!"

Ignoring the pandemonium around it, the EVA methodically extracted the lock-bolts from its shoulders and tore away any cables still attached. Then, it turned its gaze to the observation/control deck. Misato and Ritsuko stood trembling in fear as the Unit seemed to regard them with almost child-like curiosity. The deathly silence of the room was suddenly pierced by the static-suffused scream of a girl.

_"--out of my head--"_

The glow in the Evangelion's eyes blazed crimson, and it threw its head back in an unearthly roar.

**_- Intercept point, Mt. Nobe -_**

Fear twisted Shinji's stomach into a complex knot. His hands trembled on the control sticks as in the distance, the silhouette of the Angel-infected Unit-03 ambled towards them. Behind it, a setting sun bathed the entire mountainside in a orange-yellow colour that reminded Shinji too much of LCL. Thinking about it made him smell blood again, and he laughed weakly to himself.

"What's so funny, Third Child?" Asuka snapped over the comm.

Putting on a mask of bravery, he answered, "Just thinking, Asuka. About how that EVA's expression looks like its entry plug's been inserted in the wrong place." He immediately regretted having made that joke, as her eyes narrowed dangerously at him.

"You... still don't know, do you?"

That feeling of dread that had been gnawing away at him since yesterday intensified, as Shinji slowly shook his head, anticipating her unspoken words yet at the same time, hoping she wouldn't say them knowing they'd only further confirm his deepest suspicion. "Know what...?"

"_Baka!_ The Fourth Child is--" The video screen filled with static, and only Asuka's screams of pain preceded the audio channel breaking off as well. There was no further signal from her EVA.

"Asuka? Asuka!"

**_- location indefinable -_**

'These mockeries of the Father are no match for the might of one of his rightful Children,'_ Bardiel scoffed, looking down through his acquired eyes at the fallen form of Unit-02. However, his satisfaction was spoiled by the incessant noise-- identified as crying --made by the Lilim within the host body._

_"Stop it..." she pleaded, sitting in the plug curled up into a ball. "Please..."_

_It wasn't very easy to understand these 'emotions' of Lilim, Bardiel decided. All that he had sensed from the girl when they encountered the red Evangelion was something called 'jealousy' and the subsequent desire to inflict someone called 'Asuka' a lot of pain. It was merely a matter of convenience this Asuka had been intent on stopping him fulfilling his mission._

"But is this not what you wished for?"

_"No, no, no, no!" the girl clutched her head, sobbing. "Stay out! Stay out from my mind!"_

_And like a dark curtain had been drawn between them, Bardiel found he could no longer access the Lilim's thoughts, which he had to admit was rather impressive. She was stronger of will than he had originally given her credit for, and despite his curiosity to learn more, it probably wasn't necessary to forcibly pry open her psyche, for it seemed quite fragile._

_Instead, he set the host body into motion again, following the direction of the tiny whisper calling out to him. Bardiel hadn't gone very far when he detected the presence of another copy of the Father hiding just behind a hillside, waiting to ambush him. _'I shall punish these Lilim for their insolence!'

**_- Intercept point, Mt. Nobe -_**

The crosshairs were focused perfectly on her target, but Rei couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger. She hesitated, knowing who the pilot was and that she was still trapped inside the jammed entry plug.

She realized she'd hesitated too long; Unit-03 stopped and shuddered, slowly turning to look at her. There was barely time to be surprised before it launched itself into the air and came crashing down on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Her rifle, which she lost hold of on impact, was just beyond her reach. However, more surprising was the numb acidic sensation that began to creep its way up her left arm.

"Rei!"

Shinji, running towards her as fast as he could manage, pointed his rifle in the general direction of the two EVAs and let loose a wild burst. While a majority missed, any stray shots that chanced close to Unit-03 were repelled by a screen of light. But it didn't matter; the distraction tactic was enough to turn the Angel-infected EVA's attention away from Rei.

Tossing away the rifle, knowing it was useless anyway, Shinji picked up a little extra speed and barrel-tackled Unit-03 with the full force of a multi-ton biomech. It roared and flailed under Shinji, not keeping still for even a moment and therefore making his job minutely more challenging. Fighting the squirming Angel, he glanced back at Rei, who was standing slowly and clutching its left arm. There was a criss-cross pattern of swollen veins that were gradually shrinking down.

While his attention was diverted, a fist swung up viciously at his jaw with a powerful hook. Even through the reduced synch-backflow, it still hurt like a decent punch. Despite the pain, Shinji considered himself lucky it hadn't hit him any higher up, and made an effort to better restrain the thrashing EVA. Then, crackling over the comm. in a barely heard moan, a voice turned his blood to ice:

_"...elp me, Shin-ch..."_

**_- flashback: Streets of Hinata City, two years ago -_**

_"Help me, Shin-chan," thirteen year-old Kanako moaned, tentatively poking her ankle, which was already beginning to swell up. It felt as though it was on fire, and the girl knew better than to try and stand on such an injury. Remembering there was a pack of miso paste in the bag of groceries dropped beside her, she fished it out and placed it on her ankle._

_Shinji barely concealed his amused grin. "Well, you can't say that's not quick thinking."_

_"Oh shut up," she snapped indignantly. "Just help me here, will you?"_

_His expression straightened, and he quickly collected up the scattered fruits back into the bag. "Do you think you can stand?" he asked, examining the ankle and, before Kanako could shake her head, yanking the shoe off the foot._

_She winced at the pain. "That hurt!"_

_"Sorry, but it was only going to hurt more if you left it on, you know that. Now," Shinji turned his back to her. "get on my back. It looks like I'll have to carry you home."_

_"Wh-what?" Kanako stammered, blushing faintly despite herself._

_A few drops of water hit Shinji's nose as he peered up warily at the cloud-cast sky overhead. "C'mon, we have to hurry onee-chan, it's starting to rain. And if you can't stand on that foot, you're hardly likely to be able to walk on it, so just hop on."_

_With the reluctance of committing an act of guilty pleasure, she complied, pressing her body to him and draping her arms loosely around his neck. "I... Give me the bag, Shin-chan," she said softly._

_No other words were spoken for the next twenty minutes._

_While everyone around them scurried to find shelter from the drenching torrent falling from above, the two children didn't seem to give a care in the world, silently enjoying their slow and leisurely stroll in the downpour. Comforted by each other's warmth, even the bitter cold was ignored. Needless to say, they were soaked thoroughly when they finally arrived home._

_Save for an oddly heart-shaped patch on the front of Kanako's shirt, which went unnoticed._

**_- location indefinable -_**

_Bardiel roared in indignation. This was simply not acceptable!_

_He, a rightful Child of the Father, was being bested by a mere imitation of the flesh. He, who commanded control over hail and lightning, could do little to break free of the stranglehold that held him captive. Unacceptable!_

_"Don't hurt him..." the Lilim girl begged. "Please don't hurt Shinji..."_

_Had he the physical capability to do so, Bardiel would've grinned, as he realized a solution to this. In his rage, he had forgotten all about the 'passenger' within his host body. Surely she possessed the rightful knowledge that he could use to defeat this accursed replica. After all, one required poison to fight against poison._

_Desperate reason overwrote subtlety, and he forced his consciousness onto the mental barrier projected by the Lilim, bashing and tearing through the meager resistance it presented. She screamed, clutching her head in agony; Bardiel ignored it and delved into her mind, finding himself immediately drowning in a cacophonic swirl of memories._

_Overwhelmed by everything, he had to sigh. Exploring the psychological aspect had never been his interest or strength; that kind of thing was for, at least in his opinion, stuck-up elitists like Arael who had actually preferred the mental attack over a physical one. Why, he had always wondered, but now as he plucked curiously at a strand of consciousness drifting by, he could see some merits._

_But as Bardiel sifted fruitlessly amidst the countless thought-strands for a method to counterattack, in doing so he was unwittingly distending his own conscious and compromising the control he had over the Evangelion. He was in far enough for Unit-03's struggles to start weakening._

_It was a mistake that would cost him dearly._

**_- Intercept point, Mt. Nobe -_**

"Kanako? Kanako!"

As soon as he had heard her scream, Shinji's mind had kicked into overdrive. _'I have to save her...!'_ But with the Angel-infected EVA's ceaseless and violent efforts to break loose made things difficult for him to attempt anything except hold it down. Now though, he watched with disbelief as the thrashing Unit-03 began to calm down some. _'This is a chance!'_

"Rei!" he yelled into the comm. "Are you alright?"

"...Yes."

There was a brief pause where Shinji reached to shut off the external audio feed, opening a private channel between himself and Rei, knowing full well the suspicion it would certainly arouse. But it was necessary for what he was about to tell her next. "Listen Rei, cut your link to command for a moment. There's something I need you to help me with..."

He spoke with deliberate quickness, but wasn't the least bit uncertain that the girl had caught every single word. After all, it was easy to master the skill of listening when one hardly spoke a word-- or hardly given an opportunity to.

The proposed rescue plan seemed simple enough: while he kept Unit-03 still, Rei was to extract the entry plug from its back and return to base. Once Kanako's safety was confirmed, he would deal with the rogue Unit as necessary. _'Perhaps,'_ he mused to himself, _'I shouldn't destroy it; that might annoy him some...'_

"...Okay. On three: one, two--"

* * *

_(Formatted to be both FFN and EFO friendly.)_

**_A/N:_** Okay, here's a long-awaited update for all of you still out there. Think of this chapter as a 'Happy Halloween' to you, and while I'm at it, maybe even a very early 'Merry Christmas', who knows? Well, I knows. My final exams are coming up in a few weeks as of this posting, and I'll probably be needing to disappear for another couple of months. Or less, but don't bet money on that.

Speaking of which, I'll be earning some money over the long holidays, which is good, because I might just be able to save up and get myself a decent new computer that I've long given up on my Dad to buy. I could probably reason with him to pay for part of it, but that'll be the best I'll get from him.

Anyway, much thanks for having been so patient. I hope this chapter still keeps up the standards. And one last thing for FFN readers: I didn't like Chapter Six, but since it was cited to be on EFO, I revised it heavily. Go check it out! C'mon, I know you'll have some time for it!

Feedback welcome in reviews or to "cala1019" at Gmail. Letters to prod me on are also accepted!


	15. Fourteen: Alternate Fuse

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

_**- Unit-03 entry plug -**_

Visions, memories both new and old, scrolled past Kanako's eyes as Bardiel continued to fruitlessly sift through the girl's mind. She could feel, through the mental link currently between each other, the Angel's growing frustration at not finding what he desired-- a way to defeat the 'imitations of the Father', which she deduced to be the other EVA units --and his own lack of proficiency in the mental sphere.

Still, a certain child-like curiosity compelled him to keep sifting through the archives of Kanako's mind, and given the circumstances, she found it morbidly fascinating to have random moments from her life played back to her-- both good and bad. Things that she'd forgotten naturally over time or forcefully pushed into dark corners; it felt strange to review those events like this.

Then suddenly, a flash of a face that wasn't her own; a subsequent stream of images of that particular face. The face of a person she'd watched change over the course of nine years, and reflected in those eyes was herself, changing alongside him... "Sh... Shinji," she whispered, a tear welling up. _'The boy I played with, lived with, grew up with. The boy I vowed to protect from any harm. The boy I... love.'_

"I will **not** let you hurt him."

Gathering her resolve, she mentally focused it into a lance of willpower that she hurled, with all the strength she could muster, at the blanketing presence of the Angel's psyche. Immediately, Kanako's head almost exploded with the sound of three beings screaming simultaneously in agony, and she almost wished she hadn't done that.

Bardiel's bestial cries rang in her head, the enthralled EVA roared in sync, and the final voice she identified as herself, as empathic feedback between her mind and the Angel's gave back a portion of the pain that the latter was suffering from. Her body writhed about in the narrow, ergonomically contoured pilot's seat as the sensation skyrocketed to excruciating levels.

She just hoped Shinji was still alright.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen -- _Alternate Fuse_**

* * *

_**- Intercept point, Mt. Nobe -**_

"--three!"

Shinji felt a sickening lurch in his stomach as the neural connection between him and Unit-01 was abruptly severed, and another physical lurch as the deactivated EVA slumped helplessly forward. 'What's going on!' Red emergency lights blinked to life inside the darkened plug, and he could suddenly hear the 'whirr' of something spinning extremely fast behind his seat, so loud the vibrations were almost tangible.

"Rei! The plug!" he screamed desperately into the comm.

And in fact, they were; craning his head around, Shinji saw the giant metal disc slotted into the A-drive of his pilot module. What would've been more shocking, had he been at the right angle to see it, was the label of that drive: 'Operation Dummy System REI'. That revelation alone might've just tipped over the emotional boiling pot in Shinji, which was dangerously close to doing so as it was.

Under his now-immobile EVA, Unit-03's wild thrashing, which had appeared to be weakening only moments before, intensified in fervor and pitch, completely throwing the dead weight that he was aside. He could only watch helplessly as it shakily went to its knees and rose tentatively to a stand. Strange as the idea seemed, the hijacked EVA's motions looked somewhat... conflicted.

He didn't get time to mull that thought over, as a dash of blue from his right closed in on the rogue, flashing a fully-powered prog knife in one hand that deftly cut away the sticky biomass that had prevented the entry plug from being ejected initially. And before Unit-00 even reached for the protuding tube of metal, the built-in rockets kicked in, sending it flying towards the last remaining sliver of crimson sun hanging off the horizon.

However, Unit-03 remained on its feet, and Shinji whispered to no-one in particular: "Is it... over?" The EVA replied by taking one clumsy forward step and toppling face-first into a rice paddy, where it lay without any further movement for over three minutes.

"Pattern has... shifted from blue to orange," Shigeru reported tentatively, as the fourth minute ticked on. "All of the target's biometric readings are at zero. Absolutely no forms of energy detected; the target is... silent."

The tone of displeasure in Gendo's voice was evident to Shinji, as he listened to the man tersely growl out commands to dispatch the retrieval crews to the EVA Units, in lieu of a predictably hesitant Misato. Then his comm. connection crackled to life, and the only thing said was, "We will need to talk."

_**- location indefinable -**_

"Unacceptable, Ikari! Totally and utterly **unacceptable!**" SEELE 05 hollered, the rest of the monoliths rowdily expressing their shared sentiments. "This is most definitely **not** according to the scenario! Do you have any idea of the repercussions this will have on the rest of our plan!"

"Circumstances were beyond my control," the elder Ikari simply replied. "Unit-01's pilot disregarded orders and wilfully possessed the Evangelion for his own purposes. Of course, he has been properly detained for such a display of insubordination."

SEELE 09 boomed out. "That is all well and good, but claiming that circumstances were beyond your control infers to me that you will not accept responsibility for what happened under your and only your authorative command. What do you say of that, Ikari?"

Gendo's only immediate reply was silence.

"Moreover," 09 continued, "the parasitic nature of the 13th Angel with respect to the Evangelion makes it double the threat it already should be, and yet it wasn't physically destroyed! That is more than a risk we are willing to take, Ikari. Should Lilith or her true copy be compromised by--"

"I assure you gentlemen, that Lilith will not be affected in any way, and Unit-01 will be kept at a distance from Unit-03 until every minute trace of the Angel's contamination have been removed and it has been tested and re-tested for absolute safety."

A collective gasp arose from the circle of black monoliths.

10 was the first to object. "You can't possibly be thinking of--"

"That's lunacy!" yelled 04.

"Do you intend to throw away Instrumentality entirely!" SEELE 07 demanded.

Kiel's quietly powerful voice silenced everyone immediately. "You test our patience, Ikari, and stretch the boundaries of your servitude to us. It would be too easy to simply make you disappear, but fortunately for you, there are very few that are as able and willing to do such... jobs for us. I shall let you do as you please once again, but it must not impede our master plan, understand?"

He faded away, and the others were all too quick to follow suit, though not before snapping off one caustic remark or another, under their breath.

"And to think we'll have to spend eternity with them," Fuyutsuki finally muttered.

_**- Detention cell, NERV HQ -**_

The cell door creaked loudly open, and light spilled into the dark and narrow room. Shinji squinted until his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, after which he identified the silhouette standing in the doorway as Misato.

"How are they?"

It was a simple question, an innocent question, but Misato momentarily had to restrain herself from verbally exploding onto the boy. "I should be angry at you, Shinji, for disobeying orders. But the fact is, I can't. I have no right to be angry at you, not since I hid from you the fact that Kanako had been cho--"

"How are they?" he repeated.

"Asuka's fine," Misato sighed wearily. "Only a few bruises here and there, nothing that won't heal up in days. What I'm more worried about is her broken pride; that battle really took a toll on her confidence. And as for Kanako... she's..."

Shinji's heart seemed to skip a beat. "...Go on."

"Physically, she's unharmed; not a trace of physical contact between her and the Angel were detected. The real damage was done elsewhere: in her mind. Psychographic readings of her brain patterns are wildly erratic, and while there is mental activity going on-- a lot of it, in fact --she doesn't seem to be waking up."

"...I see."

Another shadow filled the doorway, and the darkly-dressed agent murmured, "Time's up, Major."

Misato gave Shinji an apologetic look; he just turned away. "I... I'm sorry Shinji," she said, as the door creaked shut behind her. The final click of the lock-bolt echoed inside the narrow cell, taunting its sole occupant before fading away and leaving him once again, all alone in the pitch black.

Moments later, there was the sound of liquid plinking to the floor.

_**- location indefinable -**_

_The first thing Bardiel became aware of as he regained consciousness was the pain. Oh, the agonizing, head-split-with-a-club sort of pain! It was beyond all capable description, and it took him more than a few minutes of extreme willpower not to black out again._

_Once the tide of agony ebbed out-- with equally indescribable relief --he began to take notice of his surroundings. Or lack thereof. Spread out in every direction was a vast expanse of pure white as far as he could perceive._

_"...Wh--" Bardiel began to speak, then realized he actually possessed a voice to speak with. Which greatly confused him, for he had never had and never needed a material outlet for communicatiing. He tentatively spoke again. "...Where am I?"_

_Nothing._

_Louder, he asked once more. "Where am I!"_

_He didn't hear the answer that came moments later; he **felt** it. Every particle of his being, the entire plane of white in which he currently existed, shook with the cryptic reply: _"You are within."

_"Within? Within what?"_

"You are within the Ego Barrier, a metaphysical 'dividing wall', if you like, between the souls and minds of every human. Lilim, as you call them. Of all the places you could have ended up, it is most curious that it happened to be here. Peculiar though; your existence here seems to be partially incomplete, and yet I cannot detect any presence of an anchor--"

_A piercing scream interrupted the ominpresence: _"No! Get out! Get **out!**"

_Bardiel felt the unseen entity smile and nod understandingly. _"Ah, I see. So that's how it is."

_**- Surgical ward III, NERV -**_

Not a word had escaped from Misato's lips since she'd walked out of that dark and tiny holding cell nearly two hours ago. Even now she sat in complete silence, vacantly staring at the sleeping face underneath the plexiglass window of the recovery capsule, almost totally withdrawn from everything else. Dozens of thoughts raced around in her head, but one stood out in particular: _'How could so many things have gone wrong on so many levels?'_

Her conscious awareness briefly flickered active, re-registered what she saw in front of her, and immediately triggered off an overwhelming flood of guilt that brought tears to her eyes. _'Just... how selfish do I have to become? This vendetta of mine; I know it's foolish and reckless, and yet...'_ She shook her head, scattering teardrops to the floor.

More tears soon followed, and Misato cried noiselessly, clutching her chest desperately wishing that the hollow feeling of despair she had inside would just disappear and never come back. Even though she knew-- and had known for the last fifteen years --that was one wish she would never be granted.

_'I hope when this is all over, these kids will be able to find happiness. To deny them even that would be too cruel, too severe a punishment for crimes that they didn't commit, sins that aren't their own...'_

"In here again, Misato?"

She hastily dabbed at her eyes and looked up at the noise. "Oh,--" Misato sniffled. "--it's just you, Ritsuko."

The blonde handed her a steaming mug generously filled with coffee. "I think I deserve more than a 'just Ritsuko' for what I'm giving you. And be warned, it's hot like you've never tasted before. Don't burn your tongue on it."

"...Thanks." Misato cautiously touched the edge of the liquid to her lips and gently sipped. Moments after the coffee went down, she let out a breath that seemed to carry all of her current stress and tension, her entire body visibly relaxing as she did so.

"Feeling better now?"

Misato nodded. Her gaze strayed back to Kanako's sleeping face. "So... Why did it have to be her?"

Ritsuko glanced up from the data screens. "Who else would you rather it have been?"

"Don't answer questions with questions," Misato snapped irritably.

"It had to be someone, Misato," Ritsuko said coldly, nudging her glasses up. "She just happened to fit best the requirements from all of the possible candidates."

"...You're doing that a lot lately, you know."

"Doing what?"

Misato shot an accusing look at the woman. "Viewing things too objectively."

_**- location indefinable -**_

"You see, the Ego Barrier is not a plane designed for extended durations, but merely a passage through and between the mental and spiritual cores of humans. The most frequent travellers here are those that practise any form of supernatural belief. As they pray, meditate, or go into trances, a part of the conscious mind distends and passes through here to connect them with the spiritual plane. This is where anchors become relevant."

_Bardiel took a few moments to absorb that information; in fact, the entity seemed to even be waiting for him to do so._

"There is an infinite potential of energy that can be gained by tapping into the spiritual plane. However, like a tidal current, one can only reach so far in before they are overwhelmed and swept away by the very power they try to obtain. Anchors are visualized focal points that bind the conscious mind to the Ego Barrier, but also serve as the gateway back to their physical forms."

_"So... what happens to those without anchors?"_

"A prudent question. Although in normal circumstances, it is virtually impossible not to have at least one anchor... Anyway, one of three things may happen to those unfortunate or unwise enough to be stranded, some of them less likely than others: one, they are absorbed into the spiritual plane; two, their existence simply vanishes; and three, forced interaction with the physical form may 'shock' the conscious mind back. Although, now that I notice, I may have discovered an interesting new alternative in your case..."

_"...Which is?"_

"As I mentioned before, your existence here is partially incomplete. A fragment of your metaphysical form still resides inside the Lilim whose mind you invaded, and that fragment is still connected to you-- as weak and fragile as that link may be. In time, that fragment will be absorbed into the Lilim, and the rest of your remaining existence here in the Ego Barrier will be drawn through and likewise... assimilated. A fate possibly worse than death."

_**- Commander's office, NERV HQ -**_

The speaker on Gendo's desk squawked briefly. "Sir, we've brought the Third Child."

"Bring him in."

Far on the other side of the room, the doors swung inwards with ominous silence. Shinji, head down and hands cuffed behind his back, began to slowly walk towards the center of the room, flanked by a pair of agents. Their footsteps reverberated eerily around the expansive chamber, adding a suffocating quality to the already oppresive atmosphere.

"Pilot Ikari," Gendo started, once they were about 20 feet away. When he received no response, he added menacingly, "You will **not** make me repeat myself, understand?"

Shinji raised his head to glare at his father with eyes burning with hatred. "Yes, **_sir,_**" he ground out.

"Now," the elder Ikari put his hands together in his trademark arch. "what do you have to say for yourself?"

"--d've ripp-- to --eds..."

"If you wish to make yourself heard, Pilot Ika--"

"I said I should've **_fucking ripped you to shreds!_**" Shinji screamed, and even before the ringing of the last word faded out of everyone's ears, he was in sprinting charge towards the desk. A brief tap of the heels before leaping into a length-wise midair roll over the desk brought him to a perfect landing on his right leg, while his left foot sat gently on Gendo's shoulder, the glinting tip of a blade mere millimetres from the man's jugular.

However, the revolver pointed at his forehead made the situation a little less perfect. Without a change in expression, Gendo said, "If that's the way you want matters handled, then so be it." He gestured to the dumbstruck agents to take Shinji away, making a mental note to have them removed for their incompetence, as well as to never underestimate his son ever again.

To their final credit, the agents hurriedly and efficiently deprived Shinji of both his footwear, and led him quickly towards the doors. The boy went with minimal struggle, but before his image vanished around the edge of the doorway, he had one last remark:

"Happiness is a privilege, father, not a right."

* * *

_(Formatted to be both FFN and EFO friendly.)_

**_A/N:_** Two words: Not. Dead. That's right folks, I'm back, believe it or not. And the story **does** indeed continue, much to everyone's surprise. --;; This chapter may have not made much sense to you, and while I place some blame in the minute continuity gap on the months that I took off from writing, I'll be honest and say that I'm being fairly spontaneous with this fic now. There's still a vague direction I'd like to go, but only God (or any other figure of spiritual belief) knows if it'll actually turn out that way. Oh well.

I'll briefly mention now, life as a student in the final year of high school has certainly kept me busier than I ever expected to be. That, and some other new hobbies I've picked up during my three/four months of absence. The little trickles of support I've received over even that time have been great encouragement and a reminder to me of why I started this fic and kept it going. So thank-you to all you people.

Until the next eventual update-- see ya! As always, feedback is welcome in reviews or "cala1019" at Gmail.


	16. Fifteen: Crystalline Emotions

* * *

**Love Shinji**

-- an Evangelion/Love Hina crossover

_by Project Cala_

* * *

_"It is not very wise for city states  
To raise a lion's whelp within their gates:  
But should they do so, they will find it pays  
To learn to tolerate its little ways."_

--Aeschylus, from Aristophanes' play "The Frogs"

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen – _Crystalline Emotions_**

* * *

_**- Outside the Commander's office -**_

"Happiness is a privilege, father, not a right."

As placid as he'd made those words sound, Shinji's entire body trembled with barely contained rage. The pure intensity of his fury, in addition to his previous outburst, made the agents uneasy to be near him. "I'll suppose you'll want me to go back to the cell," Shinji said listlessly, shaking their hands off his shoulders.

One of the agents, a tall dark-haired man, cleared his throat loudly a few times. "Uh, y-yes. Our orders are to, um, escort you back to the detention area a-and ensure that--"

"I'm locked away nice and proper," Shinji finished for him. "Well gentlemen, I won't make your precious last moments as Section Two difficult. But I do ask that you let me out of these uncomfortable cuffs."

The tall agent gave his partner a questioning look, which was replied with an uncertain shrug. Their pantomiming continued for a moment, but Shinji interrupted them again. "You're either going to remove these or..." he paused and sniffled, "or one of you'll have to wipe away all these tears for me."

Strength ebbing away from his legs, Shinji leant on the wall as he slowly slid down to his knees on the floor of the corridor, stifling his sobs as best as he could manage. Neither of the agents were sure of what to do with this current situation, and eventually the tall one shoved his hand into a pocket, fishing out the keys with which he unlocked the handcuffs, albeit still warily eyeing the boy.

"...Thanks." With almost inhuman speed and precision, Shinji's hand shot up and gripped a pressure point at the base of the agent's neck with a 'viper-bite' technique that immediately knocked him out cold. The other hand darted into the man's jacket to retrieve the holstered pistol. Pointing it at the other dumbstruck agent, Shinji motioned for him to quietly relinquish his weapon as well. A quick strike to the temple with the butt of the gun also put him out of commision.

"I really hope he doesn't pay money to hire this kind of incompetence," he remarked, as the second agent slumped forward. He briefly scanned the surroundings before picking up the other pistol in his free hand and calmly walked off down the corridor.

_**- Katsuragi residence, roughly two hours later -**_

"He's gone and done **what** now?!" Misato hollered shrilly down the phone. "No, no, I heard it the first time; you don't have to repeat the whole damn thing again-- I said, forget it!" She stabbed the 'end call' button, missed, and resorted to just plain slamming the handset down onto the table. "Oh my **God!** I can't **believe** this!"

"Now what's got your panties in a twist, Misato?" Asuka asked.

Misato shot the girl a venomous glare before replying. "Shinji. Our dear boy, Shinji. Has run away."

"..." Asuka blinked. "Don't tell me that's all he did."

"No, that's not all he did!" the purple-haired woman yelled. "He was called up to the Commander, where came this close--" She held together the thumb and forefinger of her uninjured hand and spread them ever so slightly. "to slitting his throat with a knife blade he'd hidden in his shoes. His shoes! And then-- he goes and knocks out the two Section Two agents that were supposed to escort him back to the detention cell, takes both their guns, and disappears without a trace."

Asuka blinked again. "You're joking."

"Do you see me laughing? This is a serious matter, Asuka."

"Jeez, relax Misato! What do you think he's going to do? Go completely berserk and spread mass terror by going on a killing spree around the town all of a sudden? What, with two pistols? Does that idiot even know how to shoot a gun properly?"

"Asuka? Do **you** know how to shoot a gun properly?"

The redhead snorted. "Hah, of course I do! It's one of the first things I ever learned as part of the EVA pilot self-defence..." She didn't need Misato's pointed stare for the meaning of what she herself had blurted out to sink in. "Training," she finished lamely. "Well, this isn't the first time he's, err... disappeared, is it?"

"No, but this time I'm afraid that Shinji's a lot more... unstable."

_**- Central city public park, Tokyo-3 -**_

Popping the last bit of _taiyaki_ (a bread filled with sweet bean paste and cooked in a fish-shaped mold; often sold in mobile carts on the streets) into his mouth, Shinji fished out his wallet and checked his current wealth. _'A little under 2000 yen (roughly 18 USD)...'_ He sighed. Even stretched to only two meals a day that would barely keep him fed for two days at most.

Snapping it shut, he shoved it back in his pocket. He pushed his bag to one end of the park bench he was sitting on, and made an attempt to recline, using his bag as a improvised pillow. It wasn't the least bit comfortable, but the expense of energy today combined with the lack of decent sleep had him dozing off in no time.

When his eyes peeled open after what seemed like hours later, there was some kind of pale object obscuring his yet-clouded vision. He tried waving it out of the way, but it just dodged his hand and returned to its position directly in front of his face.

"Shinji-kun," an all-too familiar voice said.

That startled all remnants of sleep out of Shinji's system. "Rei?! What are you doing here?"

"I followed you," she answered, matter-of-factly. "I caught sight of you as you left NERV, and wished to accompany your return to your residence, but instead..." She looked around in what appeared to be curiosity, complete with the hand-over-eyes action that Shinji wondered where she'd learnt from. "You've arrived at a place I've never been before."

"How long... was I asleep for?"

She gestured Shinji to one side of the bench and sat down, straightening her skirt. "Approximately seven minutes. Although, if you are inclined to rest further..." Rei patted her lap. "I have read that this is much more comfortable than using your bag to substitute as a pillow."

_'Do I even want to ask where she read that from?'_ Shinji shook his head. "Err, no, it's fine. I think I've slept most of it off already. Thanks for the offer though."

"Oh, I see." It was a very subtle inflection, almost like a trick of the senses, but she sounded... disappointed.

Shinji mentally kicked himself for being so insensitive, especially to a girl who most likely didn't even know what being insensitive meant. But as he quickly realized, the solution was extremely simple. "Hey, actually..." He gently placed a hand onto one of hers. "If you don't mind, maybe I'll be tired just a little longer."

Rei blinked... stared... then, her face lit up with that uniquely brilliant smile.

_**- location indefinable -**_

_Kanako immediately knew she was in a dream world from the smell. Or rather, the lack thereof. It was something that Granny Hina had taught her at a young age as a remedy to nightmares. "If you can't smell it, it's not real," she would say with a knowing smile, even on the darkest and scariest of nights._

_In this particular dream world, she found herself back at Hinata House, climbing the tall steps of the hill leading up to the building. As she passed the teahouse, Haruka popped out and waved; her dream-self waved back autonomously. _'Where am I going?'

_As if to answer her, a brief flash of black crossed her vision, and now she was in the hallways of the first floor, passing by Kitsune's room and Keitaro's room. _'Onii-san... I wonder how he's coping... Maybe I should call him once I--' _Dream-Kanako narrowly avoided being decapitated by yet another incarnation of Su's mecha-Tama, and again mere seconds later, from being bowled down by Su herself in her dogged pursuit of the House's pet turtle. _'--wake up,' _she finished the thought, smiling wryly._

_Now she was headed towards the second floor, on which the only relevant rooms were Shinji's and her own. Kanako had a fairly good idea now, what this was all building up to. And her hunch proved correct, as her dream-self reached out and slid open the door to her room. The inside looked as if a tornado had singled this room out and ripped it apart corner to corner, but she found that barely surprising._

_Anything not held down or heavy enough had been translocated randomly, and loose clothing was strewn all over the place. The door to the closet in which she stored her futon was hanging off its rails, and its contents spilling out onto the floor like a gutted animal. _'So... what am I supposed to notice from all of this?' _She took a step forward and heard the 'crunch' of something beneath her slipper._

_They were glass shards-- no, mirror shards. From her fallen full-length mirror that had always stood beside her drawers. Kanako crouched down and gazed at the pieces; a small reflection in each of them gazed right back at her. And then-- a sudden flash of something dark, from one particular shard, shaped like a scythe blade. Curiously, she picked it up, being careful not to cut her fingers on an edge._

_At first she saw just herself in the mirror fragment, but as she looked on, the face began to darken and morph ever so slowly. Kanako's heartbeat also gradually picked up its pace, as the image staring back at her became more and more dreadfully familiar... She wanted to throw the shard out the window, but her dream-body felt compelled to keep gazing down in morbid fascination at the frightful visage of EVA-03._

_Then there was a shout from outside; somebody calling for dream-Kanako. She flicked her eyes around the room, searching for something, anything-- a handkerchief, conveniently enough in arms reach, with which she wrapped the mirror shard in and tucked into her shirt pocket before rushing out of the room to whoever called her. _'Wait,' _Kanako wanted to cry out. _'What are you--'

_The dream world went white._

_**- Surgical ward III, NERV -**_

"--doing...?"

It took the better part of five minutes for Kanako's eyes to adjust to the sterile whiteness of the fluororescent ceiling lights, and rest of that to realize she was in a hospital room, alive and awake.

...But also alone.

She felt a pang of disappointment in her heart at the absence of the one person who she thought would be here, but consoled herself with the reason that might not have been possible considering the absolute chaos that this recent event-- as far as she could recall, anyway --would've caused. Slowly and carefully, she lifted herself up into a sitting position, also pulling the thin but remarkably warm blanket around her bare body.

_'I wonder... what that dream was all about,'_ Kanako thought, tucking her legs to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. Almost by coincidence, she suddenly gasped and clutched her chest as an acute piercing pain lanced through her chest, exactly where the vest pocket in which she'd put the mirror shard would've been. _'It certainly wasn't like any normal dream...'_

The pain faded away as abruptly it had came, but still left Kanako breathing heavily for a lingering moment. She lowered the blanket from her upper body and examined herself-- nothing, no external injury of any sort. It was at this moment that the room door inappropriately chose to open, giving the person entering a brief full-frontal flash before Kanako reacted and hurriedly covered herself again.

"Um, err..." Kaji stammered, blushing despite himself. "S-so... y-you're awake now..."

Kanako too, was red to her ears. "K-Kaji-san...! You... surprised me..."

There was an awkward silence, as the two refused to face each other, faces burning with embarrassment.

"I--" Kanako chose to break the silence first, forcing a professional tone back into her voice. "I... didn't know you were the visiting type, Kaji-san. Although I don't see how coming to see me could possibly be relevant to any of your little... side jobs here and there." She slipped a bit of accusation into the last few words.

Kaji shrugged casually, and grabbed a chair to sit in, turning it so that its back faced the girl. "It's just what I do to make a living. Though I guess you expected me say that." He saw a corner of Kanako's lips twitch up. "I'll be honest and say I dropped by to see how you were doing, which by your sharp wit and tongue I discern you are well enough. But while I'm here, I may as well get you up to speed on situations..."

_**- EVA holding cage #4, NERV -**_

Ritsuko stood on the platform, idly sipping her lukewarm coffee as she stared at the stripped-down head of Evangelion Unit-03, mentally debating whether or not it looked more terrifying like this state or with its characteristic maniacal-grin cranial plating. The cage door hissed open to her right, and heavy footsteps sounded. She glanced out of the corner of her eyes, but it wasn't actually necessary.

He didn't seem to feel a necessity to speak either.

"The Angel's body matter is almost completely integrated with the nervous system of the EVA," the woman launched into explanation, breaking the cold silence. "To have to go through all of the nerves, including the spinal column and purge them of all of that cellular mass, would take an arbitrarily large amount of time. Not to mention the possibility that what little remains of the EVA afterwards won't even be serviceable."

She eyed the person next to her, and saw that his gaze was fixed straight ahead.

"However, analysis of the molecular composition of the fused organic matter proved most interesting. The Angel's genetic material augments the Evangelion's muscular structure with an amazing resilience and adaptability; it's not of a parasitic nature as we originally suspected, but instead a symbiot which has the potential to-- for the lack of a better term --'infect' other hosts and begin to fuse with and enhance them."

Gendo's reply was devoid of interest. "Is that so."

Another brief moment of silence fell between them. "We've also managed to locate the S2 En--"

"Remove it."

"But this a perfect chance to study--"

"Remove it. And destroy it."

The weight of the mug in her hand felt solid enough to tempt her into smashing a certain someone's head in with it. But Ritsuko fought back the impulse. "Understood... Sir."

_**- Central city public park, Tokyo-3 -**_

Indeed, Shinji woke up feeling quite significantly refreshed, and he was so comfortable that he almost thought it was just another morning at the Katsuragi household. The morning part was correct, as golden-yellow beams on sunlight weaved their way through the gaps between the high-rise buildings and trees to bathe the park in their radiance. And remembrance quickly dispelled the second illusion.

Shinji rolled his head around carefully, making sure he faced upwards, and choked on barely suppressed laughter. Rei's head was lolled to one side, and a tiny trickle of drool leaked from the corner of her mouth. _'Oh, what I wouldn't give for a camera right now...'_ He spent a moment committing the image to memory, and slowly lifted his head off Rei's lap. Righting himself on the park bench, he rummaged around in his bag for something to drape over the girl. He was momentarily surprised to find a NERV-issue jacket inside, wondering how long it had been in there.

Nevertheless, he pulled out and positioned it gently over Rei's shoulders, eliciting a barely audible mumble and a slight stir. Shinji smiled faintly and reclined on the bench as comfortably as he could manage, drinking in the sights, sounds, and crisp morning air of a waking city. _'Perhaps I should consider sleeping out more often,'_ he joked to himself. A growling stomach almost lessened his amusement, until he realised an instant later that it hadn't been his.

"Shinji-kun?"

"My my, look who's awake and hungry," he replied in jest, though admittedly, he wasn't much better off in both regards.

A tint of rose adorning her pale cheeks, Rei wordlessly thrust the jacket back at Shinji, who refused it. "It's not good for girls to chill their body."

"But my biological functions aren't--"

"Don't make me put it on you myself."

Rei's cheeks reddened further as she slowly put the jacket on, her gaze low but occasionally flitting up to steal glances of Shinji's satisfied smile. Her face bloomed crimson when he slid a hand around her slender waist and gently tugged her along as he started to walk. "Where are we going?" she asked, squirming weakly in his hold.

"To get breakfast, of course," Shinji replied with a grin. "My treat, okay?"

* * *

_(Formatted to be both FFN and EFO friendly.)_

**_A/N:_** Gar. -.-;; Death threats to 'cala1019' at Gmail, if you so wish. In other news, my Japanese now doesn't suck.

* * *

_**- Omake - **_

"He's gone and done **what** now?!" Misato hollered shrilly down the phone. "No, no, I heard it the first time; you don't have to repeat the whole damn thing again-- I said, forget it!" She stabbed the 'end call' button, missed, and resorted to just plain slamming the handset down onto the table. "Oh my **God!** I can't **believe** this!"

"Now what's got your panties in a twist, Misato?" Asuka asked.

Misato shot the girl a venomous glare before replying. "Asuka, you should **know** I don't wear panties on Tuesdays."

"..." Asuka blinked. "What."

"Or was only Shinji supposed to know that?" the purple haired woman wondered aloud.


End file.
